M/I Homes breaks ground on Heritage at Plant Street

If you drive by Plant and Newell streets a year from now, you’ll see six craftsman-style town-home buildings, complete with classic brownstone front porches, fronting what will soon be the Heritage at Plant Street neighborhood.

It’s the type of style that Jeff Kaizer, vice president of sales and marketing for developer M/I Homes, said will help to sculpt that area of downtown Winter Garden.

In October 2016, Winter Garden commissioners approved the rezoning of 16.66 acres located at East Plant Street and East Newell Street to build town houses and single-family residences. David Byrnes, area president of M/I Homes, said the Heritage at Plant Street will offer 41 single-family homes and 43 town houses.

THE COMMUNITY

The row that will face Plant Street includes six town-home buildings, with another row of town houses behind it. The single-family homes also will be located behind the town homes.

“Instead of an entry wall, it’s going to be the town homes, and the town homes will have direct access to step right onto the West Orange Trail,” Kaizer said. “You’ll see a lot of large front porches on the single-family homes. That was important to Winter Garden — that if someone was to drive through the community, the streetscape we create is not just an average community, but there’s also beauty and detail in the exterior of the homes.”

The single-family homes will range from 1,800 to 3,800 square feet and include three to five bedrooms and two to four-and-one-half baths. Additionally, the homes will have a two- or three-car garage. 

“It’s a gathering spot for these new residents to meet people with similar tastes and interests and for community events to occur. There’s always things going on in Winter Garden, so we wanted to have our own gathering spot inside the community.” — Jeff Kaizer

The town houses range in size from 1,600 to 1,800 square feet and will have three bedrooms and two-and-one-half baths. They also will have a two-car garage and are alley-load style.

Kaizer said M/I Homes’s concept for the community is described in one word: “NUUrban,” which sounds like “new urban.” The idea is to have a suburban community in an urban setting, redefining what living in a downtown setting can be like. 

Heritage at Plant Street will cater to the active lifestyle, Kaizer said, so the community will install a multitude of bike racks, a dog park and pool area with a cabana. Additionally, all maintenance — lawn care, fertilization and more — are included with each home.

“Downtown is very dog friendly, so there’s going to be a dog park, because we know our demographic there is dog lovers,” he said. “There will be a cabana and pool as the focal point for the community. It’s a gathering spot for these new residents to meet people with similar tastes and interests and for community events to occur. There’s always things going on in Winter Garden, so we wanted to have our own gathering spot inside the community.”

THE HOMES

M/I Homes is an Energy Star 3.1-certified builder. The community will feature natural gas-powered ovens and water heaters. M/I also offers a 15-year structural, transferable warranty.

“For single-family homes, homebuyers can choose their home site and plan, and we’ll be able to build it into accordance to what they like, but with the town homes, they’re established buildings,” Kaizer said. “Our (single-family home) buyers will get a full design studio to personalize the home with their tastes and interests. We really want to involve our buyers in the selection process, because it’s their home.”

Currently, M/I has not yet set prices for the homes but believes it is important to be able to appeal to different price ranges. The town houses will be in a different pricing category than the single-family homes, Kaizer said, and they expect to be able to span a price range that reaches many buyers.

M/I recently broke ground on the property and is currently under development. If all goes as planned, Kaizer said M/I hopes to begin selling in early 2018, with at least one furnished model complete by the end of the year.

And with downtown Winter Garden just around the corner, Heritage at Plant Street residents can capitalize on the location and its close proximity to the restaurants, farmer’s market, coffee shops and West Orange Trail.

“(Residents) will be able to walk, bike and run to the farmers market and go to concerts downtown, and they’re going to love it because it’s exactly what they’ve been wanting — a suburban community in an urban setting,” Kaizer said. “We’re very excited about the streetscape we’re going to create on Plant Street. It’s truly very exciting, it’s a jewel. It’s not our first Winter Garden community, and we’re happy to support the efforts of Winter Garden and to work with them to establish the look, plan and feel (of Heritage). We’re very humbled but excited to have the opportunity to build it.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].