Lakehouse amenity center offers up the works

There’s a new addition for those living — or moving into — the Lakeshore community in Horizon West.

With a grand opening in November, the Lakehouse amenity center had its doors thrown open to the residents in the community. Since then, they have been enjoying the perks of the designer-decorated recreation center.

The project had been in the making for a good while, with the start of construction coming a few months after opening for sale, and those at Toll Brothers — the luxury homebuilding company that developed the community — are glad to see it up and serving the needs of community’s residents.

“It brings value to the community — people want to interact with their neighbors,” Toll Brothers Central Florida Division Senior Vice President Brock Fanning said. “It’s kind of like our neighborhood center for the community, to become a community, and that’s what Toll Brothers does — we build communities and we want people to feel like they are a part of it.”

If the goal of Toll Brothers is to help create a sense of community through the 4,132-square-foot facility, then it has easily achieved just that. The center sits adjacent to the property’s lake, which allows for a view of the water. The location also allows for residents to take full advantage of the newly constructed dock, where folks can enjoy some time on the water with kayaks, paddleboards or canoes.

The outside area also includes a resort-style swimming pool, a beach volleyball court and a fire pit.

The inside of the amenity center has a few impressive offerings — starting with the state-of-theart fitness and flex room. Treadmills and elliptical machines line one wall of the room, while weight machines and free weights offer residents the ability to work on strength training. The room itself features large windows that allow those working out a clear view of the lake.

But what will probably end up being one of the most-used rooms in the entire facility is the social room with catering kitchen. It’s the perfect spot for holding gettogethers and parties — an amenity Fanning said would help build and foster that sense of community that Toll Brothers seeks in its communities.

“We have a breakfast every Saturday in the amenity center to encourage neighbors to come out — we bring bagels and coffee and stuff like that to encourage interaction,” Fanning said. “We’re having a Super Bowl party there, we do ‘Wine Down Wednesday,’ we do trivia night — we do lots of activities at the community (center).”

Working and building up that sense of community is something that has gone on long before the creation of the amenity center.

The Lakeshore community itself was first established in 2015 and includes 367 townhomes and single-family homes — which range in price depending on which of the five home designs an individual or family picks.

Before the amenity center, the residents who lived in the community took advantage of the park that has a playground and green open space.

“There are a number of parks and walking trails located through the community, but when you build a clubhouse, that’s where the center of socializing with your neighbors tend to happen,” Fanning said.

So far, Fanning’s theory has proven to be accurate, as locals living within Lakeshore have flocked to the amenity center to take in everything that’s offered.

It’s been an absolute home run, Fanning said.

“They love it — they’re excited,” he said. “They get to meet their neighbors, and they love all the activities — for the amount of people that have settled on their home, the amount of activity we have gotten has been amazing.”