Nutter Custom Construction's Windward model in The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch has West Indies architecture and several seldom-seen features, such as a pool with wet and dry seating around a fire pit. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 10-29-2013.
T.J. Nutter grew up in the construction business. His father and grandfather owned roofing companies. But T.J., 38, decided he wanted to build the rest of the house, too. So after college at USF, he worked for U.S. Home, Engle Homes and then John Cannon Homes, where he worked for 12 years, advancing to be director of construction and chief operatingofficer. In 2011, he opened Nutter Custom Construction.
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“It is something that was always in the plan for me. I have construction in my blood,” said Nutter, a 1993 Riverview High graduate. “I don’t know that it was the market turning as much as it was the right time for me personally.” He specializes in big houses near the water. But he’s building in Lakewood Ranch, too. Just in time for the Lakewood Ranch annual Tour of Homes, he opened the Windward model in The Lake Club.
The $1.5 million model, as shown, can be had for $1.2 million without the premium lot, upgrades and interior decor from Angela Nutter, T.J.’s wife, and Lea Jackson Interiors.
Nutter Custom Construction's Windward model in The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch has West Indies architecture and several seldom-seen features. The kitchen has an easy-to-clean glass backsplash instead of the popular mosaic or subway tiles. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 10-29-2013.
The house, with West Indies architecture, is generating rave reviews from visitors during the model home tour, which runs through Nov. 17. It has several features not often, if ever, seen in models, including a large shower that opens to an outdoor shower and private sunbathing Shangri-La through a sliding-glass door; a pool with both wet and dry seating areas around a small fire pit; and a Wolf/Sub-Zero kitchen that eschews the common mosaic and subway tile backsplashes in favor of easy-to-clean frosted glass.
“Subway tiles are very popular right now,” Nutter said, “and I wanted to do something a little different. It has no grout lines, and the grout lines, when you are cooking, is what picks up the spaghetti sauce when it boils over. That is what stains the grout.
“With this, just hit it with Windex and call it a day.”
He said the pool’s design is a matter of function. “So many folks, when they are entertaining — half of the folks may not want to be in the pool and the other half do. You can still enjoy the firepit from either side and have a conversation, and people aren’t sitting on the side of the pool.”
Nutter Custom Construction's Windward model in The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch has West Indies architecture and several seldom-seen features, such as this large outdoor shower that is accessible from the master shower through a sliding-glass door. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 10-29-2013.
The indoor-outdoor nature of the shower in the master bedroom was T.J.’s idea.
“I’m a local Florida guy, and I really like the idea of bringing the outdoors indoors.
“I just wanted to do something a little different, something we haven’t seen over and over again,” Nutter said. “That was my goal and vision for this model.”
Mission accomplished.
Nutter said the Windward, despite its appearance, is “middle of the road in size; maybe on the smaller side of what we normally build. As far as the finishes go, if the highest end was a 5, those are probably 3.5 to 4 by expense. I wanted to show something that wasn’t so unattainable for the folks buying houses. I want them to think, ‘It looks nice and it is priced moderately.’ ”
Nutter said his buyers “are all over the map — retirees, empty-nesters, young families. We have sold several homes in the The Lake Club recently, and I hit all three of those buyers. So I don’t have a pattern. It is the buyer who wants something unique both in product and process.”
Revisiting The Lake Club
When The Lake Club, the most expensive residential enclave within Lakewood Ranch, opened in 2005, it was like nothing seen before in the market.
Ten model-home mansions were built in a procession of luxury, forming a semicircle on a road that circles a lake.
London Bay Homes is building very large houses in The Lake Club. Staff photo / Harold Bubil.
Since then, a large clubhouse has been built nearby. The extensively landscaped linear parks, rough-brick-paved streets, roundabouts, monuments, fountains and even a vineyard give the enclave the appearance of Tuscany.
When the boom went bust, “all the markets took a hit,” said Lakewood Ranch’s vice president of sales, Jimmy Stewart.
“These people had the money, but needed the comfort to move forward. They have that now.”
Fueling The Lake Club’s recovery are “these people” — young professional families with children, well-off retirees and “captains of industry,” said Stewart.
Twenty-six orders for new homes have been filled this year, at an average price of more than $1.2 million. In Lakewood Ranch as a whole, 339 houses are now being built.
“Sales are very steady,” said Stewart. “We have seen true recovery, as opposed to temporary blips on the screen.”
London Bay Homes is building a 19,000-square-foot house for a buyer in The Lake Club. That is confidence.
“In comparison, our clubhouse is 19,000 square feet,” said Stewart. “So we are going to have to put a sign in front that says, ‘This is not the clubhouse.’
“The Lake Club and Lakewood Ranch is a place people want to be,” he said. “People put their plans on hold during the downturn, and now have said they feel comfortable about moving forward, specifically in The Lake Club.”
Stewart said that at the current sales pace, The Lake Club — it has about 700 home sites, 326 of them built upon — will be sold out in 4.8 years.
“The tour has created some buzz and traffic. We are looking for a great season. We are still dealing with pent-up demand,” boosted by a recent drop in interest rates, he said.
Year-to-date sales are up 3 percent in Lakewood Ranch, “and 2012 was a very good year,” said Stewart.
