Florida is repeatedly challenged, but by embracing its diverse cultures and lifestyles the state has arrived on the threshold of a promising new era.
By Roger Grody
Virtually the entire Florida peninsula was ravaged by Hurricane Irma last September, but the resilient Sunshine State — even Key West, which suffered the devastating storm’s direct assault — has rebounded. Builders may employ new technologies to brace oceanfront properties from future storms, but coastal Florida is far too magical to dampen enthusiasm for new development. Undeterred by Irma is a Floridian renaissance that still has the wind at its back.
Delicious Diversity
Unlike many states that are defined by a uniform lifestyle, Florida is so multidimensional that vastly different lifestyles coexist. The fourth-generation fisherman dropping nets off the Florida Panhandle seems far removed from the hipster fashion designer in South Beach, yet both are proud Floridians united by their passion for the sun and surf.
Some of Florida’s 67 counties are more spiritually akin to rural Alabama, while others feel more like Havana, Managua or Brooklyn. In one town, shrimp-and-grits is the signature dish, in another it may be ropa vieja or pastrami-on-rye. That diversity is one of the elements that makes the Sunshine State so exciting, and so welcoming to newcomers.
The U.S. Census reported that 128 different languages are spoken in South Florida alone. While some old-timers may bemoan that reality, it is the influx of immigrants — not only from the Americas but also Europe and Asia — that has fueled the transformation of Miami from sleepy snowbird retreat to world-class metropolis. Other regions of the state have also drawn newcomers from across the country and around the world.
Golf as Religion
With the Gators, Seminoles and Canes all intently followed, football is huge in Florida, but the sport that seems most worshipped in the Sunshine State is golf. Florida has more courses (approximately 1,250) than any other state, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, and dozens of touring professionals reside in the state, attracted by its climate, championship courses and lack of state income tax.
Photo courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens Archives, Robin Hill and Edison Food + Drink Lab
Peninsula Papagayo’s First New Residential Development in Over A Decade is Part of The Destination’s $100 Million Re-Imagination.
“Four Seasons is admired worldwide for their service culture and delivering experiences of exceptional quality. The combination of next generation residential design and construction with legendary Four Seasons service and amenities will create an extraordinary lifestyle unlike any other,” said Karim Alibhai, the founder and principal of Miami-based Gencom. “The amazing experiences that are Four Seasons hallmarks will become part of daily life on Prieta Bay.”
“Four Seasons Private Residences Prieta Bay at Peninsula Papagayo will offer the best in sophisticated environmental design and luxurious finishes,” adds Paul H. White, the senior vice president and co-head of residential at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “This is a unique opportunity to extend our presence in Costa Rica and offer discerning collectors the finest Four Seasons residential experience in one of the world’s most sought after eco-adventure playgrounds.”
New ownership led by Gencom, a leading Miami-based international luxury hospitality and residential real estate investment and development firm, has announced that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, will assume management of a new collection of environmentally designed private villas and estate homes set to commence construction this month. The construction is predicted to be complete by the end of 2019.
The exclusive enclave of 20 wholly owned properties will be known as Four Seasons Private Residences Prieta Bay at Peninsula Papagayo, situated on 17 acres of prime oceanfront real estate adjacent to the famed Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica. A private path will connect the new neighborhood to Four Seasons, a member-only beach club and two nearby beaches.
A special founders release will be offered for sale in January under a priority reservation program. Prices are expected to start in the mid-$3 millions.
Innovative organic design by renowned Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher takes inspiration from repeating patterns found in flora, fauna and pre-Columbian seals discovered on site. Each private residence appears to grow out of the landscape, inviting the outdoors in. Gorgeous glass walls and thoughtfully designed windows and pocket doors meld interior and exterior spaces, making the most of spectacular views and providing an unparalleled closeness to nature. Casual furnishings and clean lines lend a modern aesthetic. The result is elegant simplicity with an international sensibility that holds its inhabitants in nature’s profound embrace.
High-energy efficiency and high-quality indoor environments are integral to Zürcher’s progressive, performance-based design approach — saving energy, water and resources. With 99 percent of Costa Rica’s electricity currently coming from renewable sources, each residence will run on clean energy. Green roofs and local materials are infused into the architecture with a local sensibility.
In addition to Four Seasons service and amenities, each Prieta Bay residence will include membership in the coveted Peninsula Papagayo Club — Costa Rica’s exclusive private club featuring exceptional beach, golf, tennis and social facilities and an array of outdoor programs and activities for members and their families.
Renderings courtesy of Peninsula Papagayo
By Alyson Pitarre
PHOTOS @SEPIA PRODUCTIONS INC.
An 8-acre Andalusian hacienda creates magic high above Los Angeles in the guard-gated city of Rolling Hills, California.
“I felt like an eagle perched at the top of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, 1,100 feet above sea level, surveying my domain,” describes John Z. Blazevich, as he recalls the first time he stood on the stunning 8-acre parcel in the guard-gated city of Rolling Hills, where the splendid Hacienda de la Paz estate now rests. “I searched extensively in Los Angeles for a location with abundant acreage that was private, safe and off the radar. I found it in Rolling Hills.”
Indeed, he did. The impressive work of art and engineering took Blazevich, a food entrepreneur, nearly 17 years to bring to fruition. It was worth the wait. The end result is a millennium of architecture under one roof.
“I wanted to build a home that would stand the test of time,” he remembers fondly. “Therefore, it had to be historical. It had to be original. It had to be meaningful. And it had to be reflective of California.”
Blazevich felt, however, that California’s immediate history was too rustic — so he turned to the first-generation Spanish hacienda style, which he perceived as a sophisticated representation of Spain’s architectural history that later influenced California’s residential style. He cultivated a design vision by tracing Spain’s historical roots back to the Spanish explorers who discovered the Golden State, and then he “brought the history and architecture forward to the look of the 19th-century Andalusia region of Spain,” he reveals.
To turn his dream project into a reality…
Click here for the full story as seen in the fall 2016 issue of Homes & Estates.
