CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — May 8, 2006 — Local builders are beginning to rediscover that there may be a potential market in building starter homes, mainly for young families with both parents working.
Among these is Punta Gorda’s PGI Homes, which is making a major departure from its traditional high-end work by launching Entryway Homes, with the slogan: “Let us show you in.”
Entryway is being headed by Anthony Farhat, the younger son of PGI’s founder, Rocky Farhat. The challenge of building a starter home in the booming Southwest Florida market lies in keeping costs low while still delivering an attractive product.
“The way we figure it, the magic number is $250,000. If we can keep our price below $250,000, including the cost of the lot, we can market to the average household … we’re trying to help renters get into their own places,” Farhat said. The fact that lot prices seem to have peaked definitely helps.
Entryway is a more production-oriented type of construction than anything PGI has tried in the past, Farhat said. For example, the range of options in a PGI custom home is virtually infinite.
Buyers of Entryway houses will be able to choose between about a half-dozen variations in kitchen counters, cabinets, floors and wall colors.
Farhat estimates that Entryway should be able to build about 200 houses a year once the concept catches on, compared to about 50 PGI custom homes.
“One of our construction superintendents might work on a dozen custom homes in a year, while they might supervise 50 or more Entryway homes. And we will be using different people, because it’s a different kind of work … Fortunately, we have a lot of good subcontractors who can work on both kinds of projects.”
Currently, only two models are being offered — a four-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot unit priced at $204,000 without the lot; and a three-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot house priced at $189,900. Farhat said they will also add a smaller three-bedroom unit at 1,400 square feet, priced in the $175,000 range.
Farhat said PGI Homes has been developing the Entryway concept since 2004. The builder currently has about 60 Entryway houses under construction in North Port, Englewood and Port Charlotte. The first of these will be delivered to the owner in about 30 days.
Also, a model center is being constructed on adjacent lots at 2384 and Port. These should be furnished and ready for viewing in about 45 days, Farhat said.
2374 West Price Blvd., North
The key to keeping construction costs down has been to standardize as much as possible without compromising appearance or comfort.
“The central core of all these houses is basically the same,” Farhat explained. The floor plan flows almost seamlessly from the kitchen to a dining area, a breakfast nook and a great room.
Farhat added that having one central floor plan allows bedrooms, bathrooms and closets to be added in different configurations. The master bedroom is somewhat small compared with many houses, and the remaining bedrooms are scaled to be ideal children’s rooms.
Each model has a two-care garage and a screened lanai. The latter was originally supposed to be standard only with the four-bedroom model, Farhat said. But they had second thoughts about the three-bedroom models and ultimately decided that most customers would expect a lanai.
Copyright © 2006, The Sun, Port Charlotte, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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