• Other News

    New Client Spotlight: Lennar Homes

    New Client Spotlight: Lennar Homes Posted In: Client Spotlights The start of the new year welcomed the beginning of a new partnership for us. Lennar Homes, one of the nation’s top homebuilders, selected FHB to assist them with branding and marketing for their Central Florida division – Orlando and Tampa. We’ll be helping them with creative design and media planning/buying for print, broadcast, outdoor and online advertising as well as providing a variety of public relations and interactive services. The first few weeks got off to a speedy start as we geared up for the grand opening of Lennar at ChampionsGate – their much-anticipated luxury, resort-style community. Brand new billboards,…

  • Other News

    Housing construction on the rise across central Florida

      New home construction is making a comeback in Osceola County. Thousands of houses are expected to be built over the next several years in the ChampionsGate community, and the development could provide Osceola County with 16,000 jobs over the next decade, and a $1 billion economic impact. “We are really seeing more move-up buyers that are able to sell their homes and relocate,” said Mark Methany of Lennar Homes Each home added to the tax base gives Osceola county more spending power, which is something it needs, according to officials. “We have lost 35-40 percent of our tax base,” said Osceola County Commissioner Frank Attkisson The 5,000 new homes…

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    Lennars VIP Ribbon Cutting

    V.I.P CELEBRATION Join Lennar for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of Lennar at ChampionsGate Thursday, February 7 • 11:00am to 2:00pm 11:30am ribbon cutting ceremony Please park at the below address. We will have shuttles available to take you to our Welcome Home Center. 8390 ChampionsGate Blvd. ChampionsGate, Florida, 33896 R.S.V.P. to 407-310-7677  

  • Other News

    New Osceola conference center weeks from completion, already booked!

      OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A new conference center is expected to have a big impact on Osceola County’s struggling economy. The Osceola County Conference Center opens in just a few weeks and several conferences are already booked. The people behind the project said that’s just the start of what the project will bring. “It’s tens of millions of dollars of impact and that creates jobs and excitement in the marketplace,” said Senior Vice President of Operations Mark Reicher. Construction of the conference center began nine months ago with an investment of about $18 million from the county. The conference center is connected to the already busy Omni Resort in Champions Gate…

  • ChampionsGate News

    Up to 1,882 homes will be built at ChampionsGate

    Lennar Homes LLC has a $1 billion plan: to launch sales early next year for up to 1,882 new homes on 34 acres in the ChampionsGate community that borders Osceola and Polk counties. The Miami-based homebuilder bought 22 acres from ChampionsGate developer Houston-based Rida Development Corp. for about $3 million and will close on another 12 acres next year. Lennar will use the land for one of three new neighborhoods at its former Stoneybrook South community, which now is being rebranded as part of ChampionsGate. That land was approved for 3,654 homes, but to date about 1,200 have been built. Lennar Homes previously was part owner of Stoneybrook South through…

  • Other News

    Uptick in new commercial construction activity this year

    The estimated $120 million expansion at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate is being developed by Rida Development Corp. The first phase is a 55,000-square-foot conference center, expected to open in January 2013. Business picked up for Central Florida’s commercial builders in first-quarter 2012. During that time, 93 new construction permits were pulled in Central Florida, up 31 percent when compared to first-quarter 2011, according to HBW Inc., a building permit information provider in DeBary. Roughly 3,000 local temporary construction jobs may be created by those projects. Further, the top 25 construction companies in Central Florida earned more than $545 million in revenue last year, up 8 percent from $502…

  • Other News

    Master plan, deals being finalized for Rida project

    Rida Development Corp.’s Marc Reicher has seen plenty of momentum on his firm’s 5.7-acre downtown project since July — and it’s been a long time coming. Reicher, whose firm on Oct. 24 officially announced it will move forward with the first phase of a $200 million transit-oriented development in downtown Orlando, first talked with me about the project in December 2009, when then-Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation to establish a Florida-wide rail system. Rida’s project was planned to be a true transit-oriented development, with a mix of uses adjacent to not only Lynx Central Station but one of the downtown stops for Central Florida’s planned 61-mile, $1.3 billion SunRail. But…