NAPLES, Fla. (April 19, 2013) – Members of The Club at Mediterra overwhelmingly approved a two-phase, $8.9 million, 12,500 square foot clubhouse improvement project that will significantly expand indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, enlarge the ballroom and introduce intimate multifunction rooms. Upon completion, it is believed that Mediterra will be the first clubhouse in Southwest Florida to offer the unique ability to convert an entertainment stage and dedicated dance floor to “open air or under chandeliers” depending upon weather. Pocketing French doors provide the conversion of this special new event space to an indoor or outdoor venue to suit member needs.
The improvement project, to be completed over the next two summers, was approved by 93 percent of those who voted. Eighty-one percent of Mediterra’s eligible members weighed in on the proposal. Carl Dill, president of The Club at Mediterra Board of Governors, called the results “a remarkable show of support and unity. This provides us with great momentum as we go forward, knowing that the membership shares the same vision for the future.”
Dill noted the $8.9 million price tag includes $3.2 million in replacement work and $5.7 million in new features to improve member enjoyment of the 12-year-old facility and to attract new members and homebuyers. The member-owned club will fund the project by leveraging savings. There will be no assessment to members or residents. When completed in December 2014, “the new clubhouse amenities will further enhance Mediterra as Naples’ most desirable address,” stated Dill.
“One of the driving factors for the improvements was the clubhouse’s kitchen, which members toured during a series of focus groups,” said Club General Manager and CEO Tom Wallace. As part of the kitchen expansion, a chef’s table and exposition kitchen will be added to the Grille Room. The Grille Room, the club’s main dining room, will be redesigned with beamed wood-clad ceilings, bleached wood-paneled walls and a distressed wood floor for a more casual feel. Existing fixed windows will be replaced with bi-folding doors leading out to a new terrace. According to Wallace, “Members expressed a desire for additional room inside the bar and more outdoor tables like we offer at the Tavern. Clearly, there is a desire for more outside dining, given very heavy Tavern demand.”
The Tavern on 18, the clubhouse’s most popular gathering spot, offering flat-screen TVs, a large bar and terraces overlooking the finishing hole of the South Course, will also undergo an expansion to include an extended terrace with a fire bowl encircled by comfortable chairs, additional al fresco seating closer to the golf course, and a pub table – a version of the “community table” concept popular at restaurants – to accommodate groups of 12. The glow of new coach lighting and the fire bowl will add to the ambience inside the Tavern as well. The Club also just recently added a summer kitchen to the Tavern complete with a brick pizza oven serving artisan pizzas, seasonal salads and open-air grilled entrees.
Construction of a two-story addition will expand the building’s northern footprint, enlarging the ballroom from its current 2,500 to nearly 3,700 square feet. The project will create several intimately scaled areas, including the private-dining Garden Room and the Atrium Room, a covered terrace/tower where a band and dance floor will flow outside to the new open-air Atrium Terrace. The terrace, overlooking the North Course’s 18th hole, will offer sweeping staircases wrapping around a tiered fountain leading down to the golf course. It will feature a more formal design similar to the clubhouse’s piazza and porte-cochere. Doors will connect the new rooms to the ballroom for larger functions. The interior design of the Atrium Room will echo the Tavern and have clerestory windows for natural sunlight, as well as acoustical plaster and wood-beamed ceilings reminiscent of outdoor loggias found in Italian Mediterranean buildings. Pocketing French doors will allow the space to be enclosed and function as a separate private room for more intimate gatherings.
The clubhouse’s existing lobby/living room will be enlarged and remodeled to expand seating and pre-function space. The project will also call for an enlargement and redecorating of the golf locker rooms and increased bag storage. Administrative offices will also be expanded and remodeled and allow the club to offer a dedicated employee lounge and cafeteria.
The Club, member-owned for more than three years, is among the top 10 percent of financially healthy clubs nationally according to auditors, said Dill. “These improvements are fiscally responsible and yet will give Mediterra a competitive advantage with new amenities that will differentiate our club and create even more appeal to new real estate and member prospects. It is affordable, and we need it.”
The majority of construction will be timed for the slower summer months, across two years. Mediterra’s Beach Club, the Tavern and summer kitchen will extend days of operations to accommodate members during construction.
The project was designed by Peacock + Lewis Architects of Fort Pierce, Fla., and will be built by D. Garrett Construction, the Naples company that built the Tavern. Atlanta-based Ferry, Hayes & Allen Designers will handle the interior design.
“We have already received inquiries about the project from visitors to the Mediterra Sales Gallery,” said Mark Wilson, president and CEO of London Bay Homes, which manages all new home sales and marketing for the luxury community. “The enthusiasm is incredible. The Club at Mediterra is already known for being among the best in the region. These enhancements will catapult the club to the top of the list.”
Mediterra is Naples’ premier golf and beach club community. It offers an array of lifestyle amenities, including the club and the private, 10,000-square-foot Beach Club on the Gulf of Mexico, featuring an elevated swimming pool, casual dining with a full bar, and valet service for beach chairs, umbrellas and beverage and food menus.
Mediterra’s Golf Learning Center offers indoor and outdoor hitting stations, video equipment with launch monitor, a 2.5-acre short game practice complex with three greens, and a staff of certified PGA professionals. Membership opportunities at Mediterra are limited to just 225 members per 18 holes.
Planned for fewer than 950 homes, Mediterra’s master plan includes more than 1,000 acres dedicated to open space with golf, parks and nature preserves. All of the community’s amenities are membership-owned.
Available home designs in Mediterra include single-family estate homes and single-family maintenance-free villas priced from the $700,000s to more than $7 million.
For more information about Mediterra, visit www.ExperienceMediterra.com, call toll-free 866-954-8939, or visit Mediterra, located on Livingston Road, two miles north of Immokalee Road and west of I-75. The award-winning Mediterra Sales Gallery is open daily.
