Mediterra earned the coveted Aurora – the homebuilding and development industry’s equivalent of the Oscar – competing against communities larger than 501 acres within the 12-state region stretching west to Texas and Louisiana, north to Virginia and also including the eastern Caribbean.
The awards ceremony and black-tie gala celebration is part of the Southeast Building Conference, the largest building industry trade show in the Southeast. The competition is also affiliated with the Florida Home Builders Association and the National Association of Home Builders and attracted 285 entries.
“Mediterra was designed as Naples’ premier luxury golf and beach club community, offering the area’s most coveted lifestyle and homes,” said Mark Wilson, president of London Bay Homes, which oversees sales and marketing for the 1,700-acre gated master-planned community. “Judges considered not only Mediterra’s beauty – from its entry and individual neighborhoods and homes – but also its amenities, its tree-canopied sidewalks and parks and the intangible qualities that make this community a true neighborhood.”
The annual Aurora Awards are judged by a panel of building, architectural, real estate and design professionals and recognizes the best communities, home designs and interior merchandising within the 12-state Southeast and the eastern Caribbean.
In awarding Mediterra the Aurora Award for residential development, judges considered the community’s overall master site plan, streetscapes, common areas, recreational areas, landscaping and subtle details such as signage and lighting. They also studied the community’s function as a whole, its relationship of housing to community and automobile to community.
From Mediterra’s welcoming bougainvillea-entwined entry pergola to its fountained cobblestone roundabout and intimate neighborhoods, judges found no detail overlooked including an ambience reminiscent of the Italian countryside with its rolling hills and tree-shaded streets.
Planned for just 950 homes, Mediterra offers intimate neighborhoods tucked into nature preserves, parks, lakes, a formal European garden and the community’s two Tom Fazio-designed championship golf courses. In addition to a private Beach Club on the Gulf of Mexico, Mediterra offers eight miles of walking and jogging trails; a fitness complex with tennis and bocce courts, swimming pool and spa services; and a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse featuring formal and casual dining.
Homes boast architectural elements reminiscent of its Italian-inspired setting, neighborhoods along the scenic main road are announced by Italianate markers and streets are illuminated with authentically correct lighting.
The 10,000-square-foot Mediterra Beach Club along the Gulf of Mexico offers an elevated pool, onsite dining, a full bar and on-the-beach concierge chair and umbrella services.
As an Aurora winner, Mediterra will be featured in a future issue of DesignIdeas. Mediterra is also the seven-time winner of the Collier Building Industry Association’s Sand Dollar Award for Community of the Year.
Mediterra
Naples, Florida
