Amenities lead to net gain

Carol and Ned Conlin have their paddles ready.

The pickleball enthusiasts only have a few more days before they can head to the courts at Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch.

The first phase of the community’s amenities will open March 25. Among them are eight pickleball courts, four bocce courts and six tennis courts.

“I’ve been playing for eight years,” Carol Conlin said. “I never played tennis. I have bad knees.”

So far, residents of the 130 homes sold at Del Webb have been getting together through meet-and-greets, happy hours and social outings organized by Lifestyle Director Amy Vleck. By the end of the week, they can take their friends to the community’s new sports courts for lessons, practice or socializing.

The newly constructed courts are just a glimpse at what’s to come. Across a parking lot from the sports courts, Del Webb developer Pulte Group is constructing a 27,000-square-foot clubhouse. When completed in the fall, the clubhouse will include a state-of-the-art fitness center, group fitness studio, catering kitchen for residents’ private parties and a Wi-Fi cafe. There also will be areas for gathering, a lakefront restaurant and a resort-style pool with lap lanes, a spa and a fire pit.

The Conlins are eager for it to be finished. They spent the past nine years in a Del Webb community in South Carolina before moving to Florida in September.

“It’s a great way to meet people and get together,” Carol Conlin said of the future amenity center. “We didn’t buy a house, we bought a lifestyle.”

That’s the main reason Pulte Group, developer of Del Webb-branded communities, is moving forward.

“We’re at a position now where we have enough residents and homes sold, we feel it’s the right time to provide it. The residents expect it, too,” said Brian Phillips, general sales manager for Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch and other Pulte Group projects in theSarasota-Manatee area. “We’re going to have wine tastings, yoga classes and a full time amenities director,” he said. “Because we’re the only active adult community, that’s why we’re making this center so large. There will be all kinds of events at this facility.”

Sales in Lakewood Ranch’s only 55-plus community have been strong. Since opening in November 2015, the community has signed 210 contracts and had 130 closings, as of March 16.

By comparison, Pulte Group’s Mallory Park project, a roughly 300-home Lakewood Ranch community offering homes in roughly the same price range — from the low $200,000s to more than $500,000 — has sold about 50 houses since sales started in August. That’s an average of about seven sales per month, compared with Del Webb’s average of about 14.

Phillips said Del Webb’s success is being driven largely by the fact it is the only age-restricted, active lifestyle community in Lakewood Ranch, and the only Del Webb brand project in the Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota markets.

Customers also are responding to floor plans, customization options and the development’s aesthetics.

March is already on pace for 17 sales, above Pulte Group’s goal of 12 to 15 per month for Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch. Phillips expects that figure to grow in the coming months, possibly to as high as 30 a month.

“Having a full lifestyle center is going to generate more sales,” he said.