Where Smart Design Meets a True Sense of Home
GL Homes, one of Florida’s leading homebuilders, is planning a signature new home community in Kendall, located one mile west of Florida’s Turnpike, just west of 127th Avenue.
Known for creating exceptional communities with lasting quality, we’re excited to bring that same care and purpose to Kendall. This community will reflect everything GL Homes stands for: smart planning, beautiful spaces, and a true sense of home.
INTRODUCING THE COMMUNITY
Long before the first home is started, we approach the planning process with a focus on balancing a beautiful community design and responsible development. The community includes 540 elegant single-family residences, a spectacular gated entrance with a guardhouse, a neighborhood clubhouse, an outdoor recreation area, and an on-site bird rookery.
A GRAND ENTRANCE
The community’s elegant entrance will be designed to impress. Abundant landscaping, natural hardscape materials, and a stately guardhouse will greet residents and guests. Plans for the entry are currently in progress.
RECIDENCES
With a robust lifestyle program and recreational amenities, the new community will also offer elegant, contemporary single-family residences. Floorplans and features are still in the planning stages, but there is no doubt GL Homes will deliver elegant, on-trend home designs.
The Environment
GL Homes has a history of building sustainable projects that add to their natural surroundings. The new Calusa community will have beautiful natural features and open space.
One current feature that will be preserved is a rookery at the southern edge of the property.
TRICOLORED HERONS
On our property’s southern edge, a 0.147-acre (6400 square-foot) island sits in a lake. In 2022, three tricolored heron pairs nested on the island. We continued inspections in 2023 and 2024. There was no tricolored heron nesting observed in 2023 and one successful nest observed in 2024.
We are prepared when tricolored herons return to nest. Pre-development, we have installed a fence 330’ from the nesting area, interrupted only where existing homes are closer than 330’. Only routine maintenance occurs within the area. This distance is consistent with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) guidelines restricting heavy construction usage during nesting season.
Before commencing development, we will submit a revised site plan to DERM that will leave the island in place.
NO ENDANGERED SPECIES ON THE CALUSA PROPERTY
Endangered species studies show no bonneted bats, burrowing owls, endangered birds, or other endangered species living on the Calusa property. Bonneted bats forage around the 13 acres of lakes. We are adopting best management practices to facilitate foraging and are increasing lake acreage to 16.5 acres. Before obtaining development or construction permits, we will work with the Department of Environmental Resource Management to ensure that, just as we have been sensitive to tricolored heron nesting, any other threatened species will be protected and buffered from the development, and that habitat will not be degraded.
WELCOMING WILDLIFE WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF LAKES AND TREES
Open spaces, waterways and natural flora and fauna are integral components of every GL Homes community, The Calusa development will feature landscape buffers and thousands of trees that will provide shelter and sustenance for wildlife. The community’s lakes and lake banks will include plantings that encourage foraging.
The result is a community that is in harmony with nature.
SMART COMMUNITY PLANNING
Smart planning contributes to GL Homes’ success as a community partner. A careful attention to detail and an innovative approach to overcoming challenges, results in a community design that is not just good for our future residents, but also good for the surrounding area. While transforming the Calusa vacant land into a dynamic neighborhood, we will incorporate the following strategies with our neighbors in mind:
Limiting the number & types of homes we build
Under County guidelines, the property has the potential for up to 1,008 multi-family homes. To obtain adjacent homeowner support, and to create a neighborhood that will be cohesive with the surrounding area, we limited our plans to only 550 single-family homes.
Designing a site plan with Ample Buffers, lakes & trees
Over 60% of the new community will be buffers, lakes and lawns. Features include a 3.5 mile long, 75’ wide buffer with an intensely landscaped berm between the new community and existing homes. Lake acreage on the property will nearly double, and tree cover will increase from under 1,000 to over 5,000 trees.
Adding on-site neighborhood recreation
The new community’s homeowners will enjoy a 5-acre recreation area and clubhouse that support an active lifestyle and social activities with top-tier amenities. Not only does on-site recreation create a sense of community, but it also eases the burden on public parks.
ENHANCING BIKE PATHS IN
THE AREA
While providing onsite recreation for our own community, we are dedicating our recreational improvements outside of the community to add to the bicycle path envisioned in the Miami-Dade 2040 Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan to create interconnected bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities throughout the County.
GL HOMES – THE RIGHT COMMUNITY PARTNER
Since 1976, GL Homes has grown from a small, local builder to one of the nation’s largest. For over 45 years, GL Homes has created exceptional communities and built quality residences in Florida’s most desirable cities. There are more than 100,000 people living in GL homes throughout Florida. Many have moved up to their second, or even third, GL home. GL Homes’ success is in the details. Master plans are crafted to balance the use of open space, lakes and recreational areas. Communities are carefully planned to be both beautiful and functional. Floorplans are scrutinized for a maximum use of space and functionality. As you walk through our incredibly decorated model homes, you can see the difference in quality and excellence. We encourage you to visit a GL Homes community to experience the difference for yourself. Click here and find a convenient location to visit.
© 2021 GL Homes – Calusa Development Facts