THE BROOKS
In my opinion, Bonita Bay Group is THE highest quality master developer in the Naples / Bonita market place. Their initial community was Bonita Bay. Bonita Bay was a bit slow in building up steam as, early on, buyers wants a Naples address. Once Naples prices took off, Bonita followed suit and people started to be interested in Bonita Bay. When Bonita Bay Group, the master developer, began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, they started looking for new large tracts of land.
In their current large tracts in the Naples / Bonita area consist of Bonita Bay, The Brooks, Mediterra, Twin Eagles and Verandah. You can find their major website at www.bonitabaygroup.com.
The Brooks is a very unique community as it is one master community divided in to four (4) sub communities, each of which offers the Buyer something different: (1) Shadow Wood (equity golf), (2) Spring Run (bundled golf - 844), (3) Copperleaf (bundled golf 560) and (4) Lighthouse Bay (no golf).
TOWN CENTER
The Books has a major … let’s call it a … casual commercial area called Town Center which consists of a fabulous / casual restaurant called Rosie Spoonbills, a beautiful state of the art Fitness Center and an “Enrichment Center which consists of meeting rooms, computer center, etc. Town Center overlooks a large expanse of meticulously maintained landscape area and gazebo, connecting lakes and preserve. Frequently they will have concerts out on the lawn such as Blood, Sweat and Tears a couple years ago, sections from the Naples Philharmonic and all the festivities that go along with St. Patrick’s Day.
Additionally, I have to emphasize that Bonita Bay Group is extremely sensitive to resident’s desire (demand !!) for beach access. BB’Group has purchased beachfront areas for each of their different communities. In the case of Shadow Wood, this area is about a 12 minute ride south on 41 / Tamiami Trail … west on Bonita Beach Road to the water … and about a mile north on Old Hickory Blvd. Each area has private parking and all the beach furniture provided.
If one is a Full Equity Golf Member in Shadow Wood, membership is Town Center is included. If the owner is not a golf member, they can become a Town Centre ‘member’ for an initiation fee of about $10,000 (fully refundable … just as for the golf initiation fee) and an annual fee of about $750 if they use all Town Centre amenities. This amount is adjustable if they don’t use the … fitness center, as an example.
EQUITY VS. BUNDLED GOLF DESCRIPTION
If you are a golfer, then The Brooks has something for everyone, even if one has zero interest in golf.
The Brooks has two types of golf, Full Equity requiring an initiation fee and Bundled Golf, where everyone is automatically a full member. A full explanation can be found on my web site … http://www.downing-frye-realty.com/www.larryhalpin.com/naples-bonita-golf-real-estate.html#golfarticle.
In summary, with regard to Full Equity, generally when one applies for membership in a golf club up North, the member kisses the initiation fee good-bye. In the Naples / Bonita area, members who will be paying an amount larger than they are accustomed to paying up North, upon resignation, will be refunded a significant amount back … at some point in time. The key words here are … at some point in time. In some cases, ’some point in time’ can be a significant time later. It would be terrific if other master developers would follow the example set by Bonita Bay Group. In the case of Shadow Wood, the contract calls for 100% reimbursement of the paid initiation to the member within 30 days of the resignation.
SHADOW WOOD
Shadow Wood is the largest of the four communities and is the only Equity golf community in The Brooks. Membership in the Club is a type of membership requiring an Application and an initiation fee. It is a voluntary membership with several categories of membership each with a different fee / annual dues schedule … (1) Full Golf. (2) Tennis and (3) Social / Dining. When prospective Buyers come to me who are interested in equity golf (as opposed to bundled golf), their most frequently asked question is … what club facility offers me the best value for my (significant) initiation fee investment? Shadow Wood offers what I feel is excellent value once everything is understood as to the workings of Equity Golf packages in the Naples / Bonita market place.
Whereas Equity requires an initiation fee, membership is capped at 350 equity members per 18 holes. With only 350 members per 18 holes, access to golf is easy. Naturally, as there are limited number of members, annual dues are higher than with bundled golf. While there are some exceptions in some communities, typically should an owner lease their residence to a tenant, any club privileges are not transferable to the tenant. Membership rights in Shadow Wood are not transferable but may be used by direct family relations.
The current (July 2004) initiation fee for full equity golf at Shadow Wood is $95,000 of which $92,000 is considered ‘Equity’. Shadow Wood has three (3) major golf courses … two within the gates of Shadow Wood and the 3rd course about 5 miles north on 41 in The Preserve at Shadow Wood. There is a beautiful 30,000 square foot club house in Shadow Wood in The Brooks with a smaller but equally beautiful 12,000 square foot club house in Preserve.
Residential styles in Shadow Wood run from 1621 sq ft. 2+den condos … to larger condos … to detached villas to significant estate homes. Current entry level prices are generally in the high $200s and up. There is nothing taller than a two story condo in The Brooks.
SPRING RUN (844)
Spring Run, a sub division in The Brooks, is a Bundled golf community. A full description of Bundled Golf can be found at the web address provided above. In summary, whereas Equity Golf is a fully voluntary membership with Initiation Fee, Bundled Golf says … membership in the club, while requiring absolutely no initiation fee, is tied to … or is bundled together with Title to the property. Thereby, each front door (owner) is automatically a member of the club with full access to all amenities. Whereas, there are more members in a bundled golf community than in an equity community, annual dues will be considerably lower in a bundled community.
Spring Run has about 844 front doors and therefore potentially 844 (not including spouses) people having access to the same tee times. Whereas the advantage to a bundled community is that there is no initiation fee, the disadvantage is that there are far more people attempting to play the course.
Also with bundled communities, membership rights are easily transferable to a tenant with the tenant paying the transfer fee.
All Brooks owners, not being an equity member in Shadow Wood, do have to ‘join’ Town Centre’ and pay annual dues. However, whereas golf memberships in bundled golf communities are transferable, Town Centre privileges are not transferable.
THE KEY TO BUNDLED GOLF IS THE NUMBER OF FRONT DOORS. Rule of thumb says that a bundled community will have approximately 800 front doors. In Spring Run, that number is 844, making for a fairly dense community with many condos and fewer villa type detached residences. Price wise, entry level in Spring Run is about $170,000 for a 2/2 condo with car port and increase to $400 - $550 or so for a detached villa. There are some attached villas in the $300s.
COPPERLEAF (560)
The same basic description used for Spring Run applies to Copperleaf. There are a couple major differences. (Pulte) The builder of Spring Run became sensitive to the density idea and determined to make Copperleaf far less dense. As a result the number of front doors in Copperleaf is 560 making access to the golf course much easier. Also, as there are fewer front doors, there are far fewer condos and far more detached villas and estate homes.
Prices start in the low $200s and go up. As there are fewer front doors but approximately the same overall community expenses, annual dues / maintenance, etc., are proportionately higher.
If I am comfortable with the additional expenses (comparing bundled communities to bundled communities), I am most certainly preferring Copperleaf at 560 to Spring Run at 844 !
LIGHTHOUSE BAY
Lighthouse Bay is an owner’s answer for someone who doesn’t want to play golf or even think that golf has an effect on price. Lighthouse Bay has no Golf. They do have a fabulous club house and major pool complex which is part of ownership in Lighthouse Bay. Prices will start in the low $200s. Residential styles are mostly condo. The key to Lighthouse Bay is proximity to I-75 in particular the direction the lanai faces.
