Builder presents $2.8 million model

The Breeze: New Directions - Community Progress 2001, Saturday, March 9, 2002

by Kevin Duffy

A recently completed model home in Cape Harbour is listing for $2.8 million, the highest price tag for a model ever in the city.

Located in Cape Harbour, "The Retreat," by Wyman Stokes Builders, is an elegant two-story home of 7,854 square feet, with 5,500 square feet of living space. The home broke ground last May and was completed last week, said Laura Straus, a managing broker for Realmark Realty Group. As yet, the residence remains unsold. "We have some people circling, but no buyer as of yet," Straus said.

A waterfront home that features spectacular views of the Spreader Canal, it is relete with delicate touches, such as mahogany trim around the front door and cypress beams along the ceilings. It features a courtyard with open-air fireplace, an upstairs game room with full-size bar, a master suite and three guest suites, and three-car garage. Prospective buyers might be enticed by a lease-back option on the home, Straus said. "Investors love lease-backs," she said. "By the time they've owned the home a year, they will have a safe return on their money."

Patti Schnell, executive director of the Cape Coral Construction Industry Association, said the closest model in price to The Retreat is the Aubuchon Homes model at Cape Harbour, listed at $1.2 million.

"Any time a builder comes in and goes out on a limb to build the most expensive model, it raises the standard for every other builder," Schnell said.

Straus said one of the most compelling aspects of the home is the retreat theme. Everyone in the family has a retreat they can call their own, with a "man's retreat" upstairs (entertainment room), a guest retreat downstairs with its own fireplace and "grandma's retreat," decorated with a children's theme for kids, on the upstairs level. "Everybody has their own retreat, which is very, very unique" she said.

Schnell said the city can expect to see more such development in the near future. "Our diversity is our forte," Schnell said. "We have the most diverse product offered in all of Southwest Florida.

"There is no other community in Southwest Florida where you can view a model in the $100,000 price range, and drive down the street and see another for $2.8 million," Schnell said. "What other community can make that statement?"

Wyman Stokes said he was happy to build a model in a high-end community. "When I heard what type of community it was going to be, a high-end community, those are the types of communities I try to get into," he said.

"All waterfront, that alone tells me it will be pretty exclusive, with high-end clientele." Originally from Baton Rouge, LA., Stokes had been in business for about 15 years before moving to Lee County in 1988.

In addition to Cape Harbour, the company has models in The Brooks, and is building one in The Renaissance.