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Avalon swept its price range ($400,000 to $499,999), with models taking both the Grand award and the Merit award. No other builder in any other price range equaled that record.
Parade judges also singled out Avalon for special awards for Best Value for the Investment and for Outstanding Quality of Design and Construction. The results are especially impressive because Avalon is a relatively small builder that focuses on individual attention to each customer's home. Unlike other builders that had multiple entries in the Parade of Homes, Avalon only entered two models, and they both won major awards.
However, to people who have toured or lived in an Avalon home, the results are less surprising. Ralph Zuckerman, who founded Avalon Building Corporation of Tampa Bay seven years ago, said his homes combine stunning visual designs with a surprising level of practicality.
The Avalon IV, the Grand Award winner, is a perfect example, he said.
"This home is probably unlike any other model they've seen," Zuckerman said. "It's filled with architectural details, including coffered ceilings, plus a double-sided see-through fireplace. People are immediately struck by how elegant it is."
Yet the company's designs don't sacrifice livability for the sake of elegance. "I try to consider how people actually use their homes," he said. "Our family room is oversized, and so is our kitchen, because those are the rooms where people do most of their living. I designed the bonus room so that it is large enough for a billiard table, plus an entertainment center and a sofa. It's a very livable design."
Avalon is perhaps best known as an "on your lot" builder, but also builds in communities in northern Pinellas, northern Hillsborough and southern Pasco counties. The company's newest community is Grand Oak Island at The Eagles Golf & Country Club, off Race Track Road near the Hillsborough-Pinellas county line. Grand Oak Island is a small neighborhood of 14 large home sites that will have Avalon homes.
The neighborhood's most impressive feature is that it's an enclave, surrounded by grandfather oak trees in the middle of The Eagles' golf course. Every home site is wooded and backs onto the golf course. Grand Oak Island is still new and under development, but Avalon has a furnished model in the Turnbury section of The Eagles.
The Antigua is another model that demonstrates Avalon's approach to home design, Zuckerman said, combining elegant visual features with a comfortable design for contemporary families.
The Antigua has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a three-car garage, a large den, a shady front porch and a huge bonus room in 3,654 square feet of living area. It's shown with a natural, lagoon-style swimming pool surrounded by stone with a waterfall and spa.
"Our new Antigua model is a unique floor plan," Zuckerman said. "We incorporated million-dollar design and features at a very affordable price."
The master bathroom overlooks an enclosed garden with a fountain. The family room has mitered sliding glass doors looking out to the pool, and an alcove leads to an oversized den.
In addition to a three-sided fireplace and a gourmet kitchen with two islands, the Antigua also features a large upstairs bonus room.
Like the bonus room in the Avalon IV, the one in the Antigua is much larger than a standard bonus room. It's big enough to comfortably hold a pool table with plenty of space leftover for sitting areas.
Because it's built over the back of the home, instead of over the garage, the bonus room in the Antigua has plenty of windows on three sides. In Grand Oak Island, the bonus room will allow great views of the oak trees and the golf course.
Prices vary with the location, but the Antigua is available for less than $250,000, not including the home site. (At Grand Oak Island, home sites sell for between $100,000 and $125,000.)
Another new Avalon community is Citrus Green, a 600-acre equestrian community. Located in the same convenient area as The Eagles - between Hillsbrough and Pinellas counties - Citrus Green features 6-acre home sites starting at $179,000.
Whether Avalon builds on customers' lots or in a community, its home prices start at $66 per square foot.
For more information about Avalon Building Corporation, call (727) 942-1117 or visit avalonbuildingcorp.com
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