Progress Update – 2018 Recap
A Year of Firsts…
A Note From Jack Healan, Jr
2018 Recap & Look Ahead
Roads – 100% complete
Crane Island has completed the following infrastructure:
- 47 platted homesites – 100% complete and eligible to purchase and obtain a building permit
- 66 additional plat ready homesites with roads & utilities in place
- 12,970 feet of paved asphalt roads – 100% complete
- 8,355 linear feet of sidewalks
- 11.2 acres of community parks
- 30,000 feet of water, sewage and electrical lines.
- The community has finished all signage
- We executed a definitive agreement with AT&T to provide fiber-based Gigabit internet service
Southern Living:
- After a nationwide search, Crane Island was selected by Southern Living Magazine as the site location for the 2019 Southern Living Idea House. This is a big win for both Amelia & Crane Island as it will be bring between 10 and 12 thousand visitors to see the Idea House. We also partnered with the Amelia Island Museum of History as the benefiting charity for this important project.
- Southern Living & Coastal Living Inspired Community – While 2019 will be host to the national Idea House, we also reached a strategic partnership with both Southern Living & Coastal Living to be one of their Inspired Communities which means will be able to develop a range of homes and product offerings that will be shared through these trusted brands and icons of design & style for the region. We feel this is going to be very important to supporting the tempo and pace which look to work through the community.
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Sales in 2018
In May of ’18 with our plat recorded with Nassau County, we became eligible to start transferring title to retail end users and builders. On December 31st, we recorded 5 retail closings and 1 Builder closing for a total of 6. 2019 is already off to a solid start with 2 builder closings slated for this week and we have 3 retail customers under contract as well as 2 additional builder lots under contract for a life of project total at 13 which is respectable but as I tell my sales team it’s not “good enough”.
Parks & Amenity Progress
Builders & Architects:
We made significant headway on our Builder & Architecture programs in 2018 and I am pleased to announce that we have signed on the following firms to be our Participating Builders & Architectural Guild Members:
Builders:
Architects:
- Beau Clowney
- Allison Ramsey Architects
- Tim Brown Architecture
- Historical Concepts
- MHK Architecture & Planning
- Moser Design Group
- Stackable Design Group
- TS Adams Studio
Strategic New Hires:
- VP of Sales & Marketing: John Hillman who is a 25 year veteran with over $1B in luxury real estate managed sales
- Marketing Manager: Lori Hoerl will manage all branding, PR & Marketing initiatives and brings over 20 years of “local” knowledge.
- Senior Sales Executive – Tim Lang has joined the team and brings over 30 years of new construction sales experience.
Southern living idea house – progress December & January
Outlook for 2019
I have spent the past 40 years of my professional life designing and developing master planned communities and I have seen good things happen when you have the right ingredients of Land, Location and Lifestyle. Crane Island represents one of the last great land treasures and to be an island within Amelia Island is indeed rare. To date, we have invested over $20M purchasing and improving the land so that it can carefully be developed within the tree canopy and to ensure the natural environment is protected at every opportunity. We are also deeply committed to the character of this island and have established an architectural pattern that honors past traditions right here in our backyard and offers flexibility to create a “new old home” with today’s materials and technologies. From a Lifestyle perspective, we our building our River House amenity and all the parks within Crane Island before any homeowner moves in. We are also in the final permitting phase for the docks and we anticipate beginning that in late Q1 of this year.
In the coming year, we anticipate a tremendous awareness of Crane Island because of the Southern Living Idea House which will draw 10,000 plus visitors. To be ready for our new owners and visitors, we have invested in a new sales & design cottage right on Bailey Road which gets us much closer to the property and allows us to really give a great first impression. We are operational this new office as of last week and really like our new surroundings. We also have 6 showcase homes that our Builders will complete this year to demonstrate the commitment to timeless design and our quality standards. This will visually make it easy for our future buyers to fully understand the intent and focus of the community and this opens up a much larger market for us. Lastly, we surrounded ourselves with the most talented design professionals, builders and engineers to ensure we can deliver on the promise of this remarkable island and with good people working towards the same goals much can be accomplished. We believe 2019 can be a very productive and fulfilling year and I promise to keep you apprised of the progress and I can answer any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Warm Regards,
Jack Healan, Jr
