With only four properties left in the first phase of The Reserve at Grand Harbor, GHO Homes president Bill Handler has opened an updated model home to lead sales in the second phase of the 100-home luxury development within Grand Harbor. The new Bridgewater model home reflects a central principle of Handler’s homebuilding philosophy. While similar in size, quality and layout to homes in the first section of subdivision, it is different in subtle but significant ways. “We have an evolutionary process underway here,” Handler told Vero Beach 32963. “This house reflects a lot of the feedback we got from buyers in the first phase. It’s actually a couple of hundred square feet smaller because buyers asked for that.” With 3,150 square feet under air and 4,500 square feet under roof, the 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 3-car garage model isn’t small, but it is cozier and more coherent than the Phase 1 Bridgewater model. Ceilings are high, between 10 feet, 8 inches and 13 feet, and the house incorporates new style and design features, including more built-ins, a reeded glass partition in the primary bath and a stone range hood in the expansive kitchen. “These are expensive homes, and we are always striving to get better at what we do, and give buyers exactly what they want,” Handler says. That sense of progress toward an ideal, of continuous market analysis and product response, energizes Handler. After more than 30 years as a homebuilder, it is obvious when speaking with him that he is still excited about his profession, having fun buildings houses that get better and better as the years click by. “Our first buyer in this second phase was a woman, a widow, I think, who looked at the larger model and asked if we could build her something very similar but slightly smaller,” Handler says. “That idea fit with what we had heard from some other buyers, so our design team worked with her designer to come up with a house that is scaled to her. “This house feels a little more approachable, especially for just two people, with retired couples being our main buyers,” Handler continues. “Everybody that walks through loves it. It is smaller but has more charm.” And the evolution isn’t confined to The Reserve, a community that has raised the standard for new residential construction on the mainland since Handler took over from the prior developer. GHO has eight subdivisions underway in Indian River County with several more set to debut soon, and building insights and design ideas gleaned in one development are frequently incorporated into other subdivisions. That companywide shared intelligence and sense of innovation have enabled GHO to transition from a middle-market to an elite upscale homebuilder over the past decade or so, offering larger, more luxurious homes at higher price points to meet market demand. Gaining experience with a high level of luxury in a subdivision like The Reserve, which stretched GHO’s price point upward, opens the door to successfully devising and integrating even more upscale features in the next evolution of GHO’s product, according to Handler. “We will certainly use some of what we have learned in The Reserve to make the houses we are building in Central Beach better,” he says. GHO is building new infill homes in Central Beach that are priced between $3 million and $3.5 million, the most expensive houses Handler has brought to market. At the same time, when luxury features become more of a production item for the company, they sometimes migrate down to less expensive GHO houses, making those homes more appealing without breaking the bank. Handler and his design and production teams stick with winning features as they refine GHO’s homes. Many homes in Phase 1 had huge, bedroom-size pantries, which were a big hit. “We’re putting these in almost all of our homes, now,” Handler says, while showing off the pantry in the new Bridgewater model, which opened two weeks ago. “When floorplans don’t include the pantry, buyers are telling us, ‘find a way to get that in there.’ It’s fun. They are a big seller.” All the houses in The Reserve come with pools and Handler says the spacious screened outdoor living space he has incorporated into the homes remains “super important to buyers.” There’s a covered patio area and a sunny pool deck within the screen enclosure. “I’ve probably built more pools than most pool companies,” Handler jokes. “You can have 30 or 40 friends out here. It feels great when you are out here. It’s a good time.” In the new model home, one corner of the space behind the house – which overlooks a lake with a fountain and causeway – is occupied by a guest house that is another popular feature in The Reserve. “We sold a ton of these in the first phase,” Handler says. “People kept asking for them for a gym, a home office, a bedroom for a mother-in-law, or whatever they might want them to be.” “The homes are evolving nicely,” Handler says. “We have a lot of fun working together, always trying to make them better. That’s the goal.” Another big selling point in The Reserve is the country club lifestyle that comes with ownership. The subdivision is located within the sprawling, garden suburb-type Grand Harbor development, and Handler provides a sports membership to Grand Harbor Golf and Beach Club with each new home. The club, which has undergone an extraordinary renaissance since members took over ownership in 2020, includes two 18-hole golf courses, multiple clubhouses, including a beautiful beach club on the barrier Island, along with a full slate of other country club amenities. Members have sunk tens of millions of dollars into remodeling, renovation and new facilities over the past five years, supported in part by more than $1 million in club memberships purchased by Handler for his buyers. He says almost all his buyers are attracted to the subdivision at least in part because of the country club lifestyle. He has been paying $45,000 per house for sports memberships but that will go up to $65,000 on Oct. 1 – quite a perk for buyers seeking a Florida dream home. Grand Harbor Club general manager Michael Gibson calls Handler “a brilliant developer with vision and follow-through,” noting a knock-on effect of the memberships Handler provides. “I would say 90 percent of the new homebuyers upgrade to a full golf membership before they close on their house,” he says. Golf memberships will go up from $85,000 to $100,000 on Oct. 1. The Reserve was started about 10 years ago by the prior developer, who built 20 homes that didn’t sell as fast as they might have. Handler purchased the remaining lots and acreage in September 2023 and launched his first phase, which includes 38 homes. He opened the 40-home second phase earlier this year and is upbeat about sales, despite a slow summer and a difficult environment overall for builders in Florida and nationwide. His company is well financed and diversified across about a dozen subdivisions in Indian River County and St. Lucie County with a wide range of prices and amenities. He has “two or three years’ worth of lots already paid for” across his portfolio of developments. His well-honed operation employs about 80 people, including designers, decorators, expediters, sales and finance people, and job superintendents. That is on top of thousands of concrete workers, carpenters, plumbers, roofers, landscapers and other tradespeople employed by his loyal cadre of subcontractors, most of whom have worked with him for decades, refining the construction process along with the product. Besides updating the Bridgewater model, Handler has introduced two new models in Phase 2 as part of the subdivision ongoing evolution. The seven models available in Phase 2 range in size from about 3000 square feet to 3600 square feet under air. They have 3 to 4 bedrooms plus a den, 3.5 to 4.5 baths and three-bay garages, except for one model that has a two-bay garage. Starting prices range from $1,836,490 to $2,077,490. There have been four sales in the second phase so far, with buyers coming from Orlando, Maryland and Massachusetts, including one buyer from Boston who still works and commutes on JetBlue’s direct flight between Vero and Boston. “He raves about that flight,” says GHO sales assistant Tracy Pecho. “It is so convenient for him.” Handler includes numerous upgrades in his starting price homes but is happy to modify the houses to suit buyers’ needs and desires. “Our mantra is to say yes, if we possibly can,” Handler says. GHO has a freestanding design studio where buyers can look at materials and consult with professional designers and decorators. The company’s comprehensive, easy-to-navigate website contains all the details about homes available in The Reserve at Grand Harbor, in Central Beach and in all of the company’s other subdivisions. <em>Photos by Joshua Kodis</em> [gallery ids="236687,236688,236689,236690,236691"]