New York City Family is Sandoval's 650th Buyer
03/13/09 There was something about Cape Coral and Sandoval that kept drawing Steve and Martha Talcovitz back each time they visited family in Punta Gorda. But it took three years, Steve's retirement and the sale of their Bronx home before the family of four finally made the move last summer.
"We visited back and forth for three years, any chance we could get," said Steve, a former detective who retired in 2007 after 20 years with the New York City Police Department. "It was on our dream agenda to retire to Sandoval. Then, as my retirement got closer to reality we started thinking about our future."
The Talcovitzes, renters in Sandoval's Somerville neighborhood since last summer, recently bought a single-family home, becoming the 650th buyer since the community opened for sales in January 2005. They hope to move into their new home in the Sutherland neighborhood this summer.
The sale pushes Sandoval past the 40 percent sold mark, said Debbie Holm Sheeley, general manager of community operations, who also noted the 524-acre community was an anomaly in the Cape Coral real estate market last year – posting an increase in sales from 2007 to 2008. She said sales have continued to exceed projections and noted that the community's first phase is more than 90 percent sold.
Sandoval is being created by Bonita Bay Group, celebrating more than 25 years of award-winning community development in Southwest Florida.
Since their first visit three years ago, Steve, Martha and their two children, Melanie, 18, and Zachary, 13, have seen Sandoval grow.
"It's really gone from nothing with just a couple of model homes to the amenities and pool," said Steve. "We fell in love with the community and what the future was going to look like."
Today, all of Sandoval's amenities are in place, including a one-acre dog park, a two-mile linear park with benches and landscaping, and the community center, offering a fitness center, the award-winning Lagoon Pool and play areas and fields.
"We almost bought a year and a half ago but waited," said Steve. "We needed to sell our home in the Bronx. It just wasn't meant to be at the time."
Even when their home sold, the family proceeded cautiously, opting to rent first.
"We wanted to get a feel for the community," Steve said. "Coming down on vacation and living here are two different things. This was going to be a major life-changing step."
Waiting has proven worthwhile: Home prices have adjusted and Bonita Bay Group is paying homeowners association fees through 2010.
"Construction prices have come down since we first thought of buying 18 months ago," said Steve. "It was a no-brainer. It just worked in our favor."
The family, which includes a 13-year-old German shepherd, is getting acclimated to Florida and the Sandoval lifestyle. Melanie is a freshman at Edison State College, Zachary attends Challenger Middle School and Martha is a paraprofessional at Challenger Middle School. For now, Steve is enjoying retirement, "doing a whole lot of nothing."
While the rest of his family makes new friends, Steve has been reunited with an old police pal – a fellow cadet at the academy. The two got reacquainted during a meeting of the 1013 Club, a group of transplanted retired New York City officers.
"I walked into the club the first time and heard, ‘Talcovitz?,'" Steve said. "And I looked at him and said, ‘Rock? Oh my God.' We were in the police academy together in 1987. It's funny because you usually don't see your fellow cadets again, and here we both were in Florida."
Steve plans to pursue his love of fishing with the club, which sponsors regular fishing outings and barbecues.
At Sandoval, a casual lifestyle, tropical feel and community center with a spectacular pool and amenities evoke images of an island resort. Parks and play places have something for everyone, even the four-pawed family members, and two miles of sidewalks unfurl the length of the linear park perfect for walkers, joggers and sunset watchers.
Sandoval, where residents say life is like being on vacation every day without ever having to leave home. The gated community, located in the heart of Cape Coral, is being developed by Bonita Bay Group, the first in the company's family of master-planned communities with a Cape Coral address.
Sandoval features highly respected builders, with a large selection of model homes, dozens of floor plans and Bonita Bay Group's nationally recognized commitment to quality and excellence.
Sandoval offers carriage homes, single-family homes and villas with home and homesite packages priced from the mid-$100,000s. Single-family homesites range from 44 by 130 feet to 70 by 130 feet. Every neighborhood has city water and sewer service in place and assessments are already paid.
Vibrant colors add to the island ambience at Club Sandoval with the 5,319-square-foot community center and water features that include the 7,500-square-foot Lagoon Pool. One of the largest in Lee County, the free-form pool received a gold in the Semipublic Pools category from Association of Pool & Spa Professionals International Awards of Excellence 2007. The pool is designed with a zero-edge, a gently sloped entry, and a children's splash and play area with spray hoops and tumble buckets that rotate and spill water. A favorite at the pool is The Chute, a 100-foot water slide that drifts through a tropical forest of palms and plants before it ends in the water. Nearby is the nautically themed Shipwreck Cove, a tot lot with a pirate ship to explore, as well as the "Quiet Cove," complete with chairs and umbrellas for when residents need time for leisurely reflection.
The community center also offers a multi-purpose room with tables, chairs and audio-visual capabilities, fitness center and locker rooms with showers, and a catering kitchen for celebrations, private parties and community events. For the outdoor enthusiasts, the club features a sand volleyball court, four lighted tennis courts, full basketball court, multi-purpose field and bocce court.
Families, singles, empty nesters and second-home buyers are drawn to Sandoval's vacation atmosphere with amenities to match. The two-mile long Esplanade walking and jogging path is a tree-lined linear park, 22 acres and 70 feet wide, with park benches, shade trees and landscaping with low berms. The 4.5-acre Calypso Park has grills and covered picnic areas, pathways and a fishing pier extending into the 22-acre Calypso Lake, and one acre is set aside for Barkley Park, a special fenced-in place created for dogs to romp and play.
With gated entries, winding streets, sidewalks and 20 lakes, Sandoval is being developed in three phases. Phase I is planned with 579 homes, and Phase II, which opened for sales in January 2006, is planned with 541 homes. At build-out, Sandoval will have 1,579 homes, all by Sandoval's preferred builders.
Bonita Bay Group and EMBARQ bring state-of-the-art, fiber-to-the-home technology to each home in Sandoval. The highly reliable fiber optics greatly enhance the ability to browse the Internet, send and receive large data files and enjoy the benefits of Information-Age communication tools.
Membership in the New Leaf Wine Club is an exclusive, complimentary benefit for residents of all Bonita Bay Group communities. The Wine Club offers wine tastings, dinners, classes and excursions, as well as special pricing on an exceptional collection of wines.
Sandoval is located in one of the most desirable areas within Cape Coral, the second fastest growing city in the nation, with easy access to shopping, dining, Fort Myers, Pine Island and business centers. Residents may also walk, bike or drive to the nearby Cape Coral Sports Complex, which has five adult softball fields, four regulation baseball fields, five soccer fields and concession stands. A network of sidewalks and pathways connect neighborhoods with parks, amenities and future retail areas just outside Sandoval's gates. The sidewalks will also connect to neighboring Trafalgar Elementary and Middle schools, allowing children the choice of walking to school.
The Sandoval Welcome Center is located on Veterans Parkway just west of Surfside Boulevard. For more information about Sandoval, please call 866-325-8683 toll-free, or visit www.MeetSandoval.com.
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