Michael and Kimberly Thorpe, co-owners/brokers of Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty, are continuing their partnership with CBC development, launching another new subdivision at Aquarina Country Club on the Brevard barrier island, north of the Sebastian Inlet.
Mike Thorpe and CBC, which is run by President Dan Winkler and Vice President Jeff Parker, began the post-crash revival of Aquarina in 2013 with Maritime Hammocks, a 24-home, single-family development with ocean-view houses priced from $500,000 to $700,000 that sold out this fall.
“Maritime Hammocks was a big success for us and Sotheby’s,” says Winkler, who is one of the most prolific builders in the 32951 area.
Now the two companies have teamed up again to offer Matanilla Reef, with CBC doing development and construction while Sotheby’s handles marketing and sales.
The luxury enclave will feature 15 homes with both ocean and golf course views, ranging in size from 2,738 square feet to 3,153 square feet, with starting prices around $650,000.
“We are doing a lot of cool things at Matanilla Reef, bringing Vero Beach quality to Brevard,” says Winkler.
A model home is nearly complete and three homes have already been sold, according to Winkler. He says buyers can expect to move into a new home about eight months after signing a purchase contract.
Winkler and his Parker have built approximately 300 homes between the Sebastian Inlet and Indialantic, including some 175 in Aquarina where the partners have been active since the mid-’90s.
“It is noteworthy that Dan and Jeff have achieved most of their success in a small, close-knit community,” says Mike Brown Jr., a banker with 25 years of experience in development financing who has funded a number of CBC projects. “With so many former customers all around, you have to be outstanding to pull that off.”
Brown, executive vice president and chief lending officer at Harbor Community Bank in Fort Pierce, calls the developers “innovative and passionate,” and says they “have a great partnership – Dan as the design innovator and Jeff as the guy that brings CBC’s ideas to reality.”
“Lots of builders do single homes in existing subdivisions, one-offs, but Dan and Jeff have a stellar track record of developing fine, architecturally-themed communities,” says Michael Thorpe, co-owner of Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty, who is handling marketing and sales for the new subdivision.
Matanilla Reef is CBC’s seventh subdivision within the master-planned Aquarina Country Club community. Earlier projects included oceanfront, riverfront and golf-course subdivisions. The partners recently sold out Maritime Hammocks, which consists of 24 single-family homes priced between $500,000 and $700,000, and built Aquarina’s new ocean clubhouse.
“The Aquarina community loves our product. They love our quality, and they trust us to manage their money,” says Winkler, who grew up as a foster child in California where he was mentored by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at their Double R Bar Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, the picturesque locale where many episodes of the Roy Rogers Show were filmed.
The 250-acre property where Aquarina is located was first purchased for development in the early 1980s by German brewing magnate Albert Cramer with the idea of building 1,600 high-rise units. That plan was later modified and Cramer eventually began the current development, building single-family homes, condos and a golf course before selling the development in late 1990s. The community now belongs to the homeowners and is run by Aquarina Beach Homeowners Association.
Aquarina has about 360 homes at present, including single-family, townhomes, villas and condominiums, with room for a couple hundred more at build-out. The community is loaded with amenities.
“It is the only place between Vero and Indialantic that has all the ideal amenities buyers are looking for – ocean access with a brand new beach club, river access with a pier and boat launch for boating, an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, and a very active tennis club,” says Thorpe.
“It is a great lifestyle and the price point is a fraction of what it might be in other places. If you compare it to any community in Vero with a golf course, the difference is clear. Buyers coming here from Lauderdale or Connecticut are impressed by the value proposition. They know what they would have to pay for a large, luxurious home on a golf course right across the road from the ocean in those markets. Matanilla Reef offers the best amenities with a very affordable carry. Prices are affordable and there is no big equity membership required to move in.”
CBC is offering five models at Matanilla Reef, all of which come with a fat package of standard upgrades and luxury features. Buyers get generous allowances for cabinets, countertops, lighting fixtures, flooring and other materials to personalize their homes.
The display home nearing completion is the Walker’s Cay model. It includes 3 full baths, two half-baths, and three bedrooms on three levels, including a lavish master suite that occupies the entire third floor and has a 12-foot by 13-foot balcony with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. There is an elevator, a two-car garage with a stained and sealed floor, an oversize laundry room, a great room, a big kitchen with high-end appliances and finishes, a second-floor balcony with ocean views (not quite as wide as from the third floor, but still awesome), and a marble-paved patio with plunge pool and summer kitchen.
Residents will be able to walk barefoot to the ocean which is just across the road, close enough to hear the surf crash and slide.
There is a sales center onsite and Sotheby’s is cooperating with all outside brokers, splitting the sales commission with buyer’s agents.