Out of Florida

Mike Vogel | 10/1/2007

JMC Communities

Above, Patrick Square, Clemson, S.C. At right, Michael Cheezem

“It wasn’t a case of us making a strategic decision to leave the state” to focus elsewhere, says Michael Cheezem, president of St. Petersburg-based JMC Communities, about Patrick Square, the $190-million traditional neighborhood development JMC will build in Clemson, S.C., over the next six years to cater to faculty and to the trend of empty-nesters and retirees who want to be near a major university. Cheezem bought 173 acres from his father, a Clemson grad semi-retired there. In Pinellas, meanwhile, JMC in August opened the Sandpearl and has under way Ovation, a downtown St. Petersburg luxury high-rise.

Jose Rosado

Above, Great Camps of the Smokies, Santeetlah Lake in western North Carolina

“I swore to myself I would never work here — famous last words,” says Coral
Gables developer Jose Rosado of Santeetlah Lake in far western North Carolina, which he found in 1998 and made his second home. It also now will be home to his Great Camps of the Smokies, several small-scale, geographically spread out projects around a national forest. Rosado aims to restrict building and clear-cutting to preserve woodlands at his high-end retreats. One project has a marina and lakeside living — 35 lots starting at $425,000. Another has 50 estate lots and a 30-unit village on a nearby mountainside. Still another has 12 cottages, starting at $320,000, clustered in the forest.

Core Communities

Above, Tradition, near Hilton Head, S.C. At right, Pete Hegener

Core Communities, developer of the huge St. Lucie County projects St. Lucie West and Tradition, is at work on a new Tradition, a 9,500-home project near Hilton Head, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., where homes will range from $285,000 to $850,000. Core President Pete Hegener says South Carolina doesn’t have the same market factors slowing Florida’s development.

Tags: North Central, Housing/Construction