The developers behind Cresswind at Lake Lanier are embarking on a major project.
The Kolter Group LLC recently broke ground on an $8 million, 36,000-square-foot clubhouse and amenity center for the Gainesville community for active adults.
Despite the uncertain economy, Kolter executives say the timing is right.
“We had a grand opening in April and since that time we’ve sold 24 houses,” said Bob Rademacher, Kolter vice president.“That’s good in this (economic) environment, but we know that we’ll never reach our full potential until we have these amenities. When you have an active-adult community, they’re looking to have these amenities on the property.”
Among other things, the clubhouse will include an indoor Olympic-sized pool, a grand ballroom, library and fitness center.
“There will also be an arts and crafts room, complete with a kiln for firing pottery,” Rademacher said. “We will also have a kitchen demonstration area for cooking classes and other culinary activities.”
Other community amenities will include a marina, courtesy docks, outdoor theater area and eventually a “grandchildren’s park.”
“We’ve done numerous surveys with our target market group,” Rademacher said. “The amenities that we are offering are the ones that they’ve said they most enjoy. We have room to expand as other activities become more popular.”
Currently, there are about 85 homeowners in Cresswind. Once complete, the development will include about 800 homes.
The existing construction is just one of several projects the Kolter Group has taken on since acquiring the property, formerly known as Seasons on Lake Lanier, in February. The original developers for the community had financial issues and filed bankruptcy, leaving the neighborhood partially finished.
“Within the first two weeks of us coming in, we demolished three complete houses because their quality wasn’t up to
Kolter standards,” said Rademacher. “We also took out five existing (foundations) on lots because we felt like the neighbors had put up with those eyesores long enough.”
The group has also invested more than $1 million into improving the
community’s appearance.
“The residents did the best they could to maintain the community, but they really didn’t have the resources to keep everything looking like new,” Rademacher said. “We came in and invested more than $1 million in landscaping. Everything is growing, the residents are delighted and you’d never know that there were issues before.”
The group has set a January 2012 completion date for the amenities and clubhouse, but they are hoping to beat that deadline.
The Kolter Group is a Florida-based investment firm that has developed multiple active-adult communities in Orlando, Fla., Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.