Press Release
January 25, 2019 1:00 p.m.
After breaking ground in 2018, Amelia Island’s luxury 113-home master planned community expects continued growth in 2019
Crane Island today shared its 2018 milestones, which include breaking ground, significant infrastructure progress, new hires, partnerships and property owner closings. Looking ahead to 2019, the Crane Island team forecasts continued momentum as the 113-home master planned community prepares to welcome its first residents.
“As we reflect on the past year, we’ve seen our vision and aspired way of life become more of a reality,” said Jack B. Healan Jr., the project’s lead developer. “We are thrilled with this year’s progress and are looking forward to seeing Crane Island’s charming, coastal identity come to life next year.”
Preserving several hundred-year old oak trees, maximizing views of the water and fostering a shared community among neighbors, Crane Island has completed the following infrastructure: 47 platted homesites and 66 additional ready to plat. There are 7,200 feet of paved asphalt roads, 8,355 linear feet of sidewalks, 11.2 acres of community parks and 30,000 feet of water, sewage and electrical lines. The community has finished all signage and executed agreements with AT&T to provide fiber-based Gigabit internet, which is forty times faster than standard internet.
Strategic new hires include 25-year veteran John Hillman as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing as well as spearheading the Building Program. Lori Hoerl joined Crane Island as the Marketing Manager and has called Amelia Island home the past 20 years. Additionally, Tim Lang has joined the team as a Senior Sales Executive and brings over 30 years of new construction sales experience.
Providing buyers with both the opportunity to design a custom home from scratch, or to save time with pre-designed plans, Crane Island also finalized partnerships with four locally based homebuilders: Pickett Construction, Riverside Homes, DF Luxury Homes by Marcus Meide and Cam Bradford Homes. Additionally, Crane Island’s Architectural Guild was created to design a historic Florida vernacular unique to the island and Fernandina Beach’s timeless qualities. Comprised of a variety of design teams, the Architectural Guild includes Historical Concepts, one of the key firms behind Palmetto Bluff, a luxury Lowcountry community in South Carolina.
The master-planned community was also selected as the site for the highly anticipated 2019 Southern Living Idea House, which broke ground in November 2018. To be completed in the early summer of 2019, the home is a collaboration with Southern Living, developer Crane Island Real Estate LLC, architecture and planning firm Historical Concepts, Riverside Homes and interior designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas.
Located directly on the Intracoastal Waterway, the Southern Living Idea House embodies Crane Island’s coastal lifestyle in a private and tranquil setting, while honoring Amelia Island’s rich history. The home will make a compelling indoor-outdoor connection with over 2,250 square feet of devoted porch space designed to encourage interaction with neighbors and the community. Upon its opening, Crane Island will welcome visitors to tour the home, as well as offer re-occurring creative programming featuring local artists and musicians.
In 2018, Crane Island exceeded sales goals due to strong market interest and intent for the community, with 5 property owner closings and 3 additional under contract. Crane Island also closed on 1 Builder homesite in 2018 and in the first 30 days will close on an additional 4. Crane Island anticipated even greater demand now that 2 homes are under construction with 6 additional planned for the first 60 days of 2019.
In 2019, Crane Island will deliver 66 platted home lots, with resident move-ins slated for the fall. Several luxury amenities will also deliver, including River House, a clubhouse with a chef’s catering kitchen, elevated pool overlooking the Intracoastal and a state-of-the-art fitness center; Docks of Crane Island, community docks with 39 slips designed to easily get in and out of the water; Alice Park, a central lawn spanning the width of the island and paying homage to the island’s last inhabitant, Sarah Alice Broadbent; and Crane Island Park, a park connected to the Amelia River-to-Sea Trail. An “island within an island,” the entire project will be completed in 2024.
About Crane Island:
Crane Island is a luxury 113-home master planned community on Florida’s Amelia Island, a part of the Sea Islands Chain of barrier islands on the Atlantic Coast. With over 3,500 feet of Intracoastal Waterway frontage and over 4,000 feet abutting salt marshes, the 185-acre site is the last parcel of waterfront land on Amelia Island. The sustainable community will preserve approximately 100 acres, including the majority of the mature maritime forest – a unique feature that creates seasonality within the coastal environment. Upon completion, Crane Island will more than double the home sites available on the Intracoastal Waterway.
With the first phase now open and phase two well underway with an expected completion in early 2019, Crane Island will emerge as a connected island hamlet that celebrates the site’s history and natural surroundings, complete with a bird sanctuary, community park, gardens, walking and biking paths, day dock and beach access. At Crane Island, every home will offer a beautiful gift to the street with approximately 20 to 25 percent of space dedicated to the porch experience. Custom homes range from the $700’s to $3 million plus. For more information, visit craneisland.com.
About the developers:
The vision for Crane Island was born from two longtime friends and business executives, Saad Wallan and Jack Healan Jr. It’s the first new development in the area offering deep water access to the Intracoastal Waterway in 15 years. Both Wallan and Healan are committed to honoring and protecting the island’s storied past and natural environment, and building a timeless, connected community where life begins and ends on the front porch.
Wallan, an international businessman, brings experience from his tenure in the automotive, aviation and real estate industries. Healan, former President of the Amelia Island Company, is highly regarded for his 30-plus years of involvement in the development of Amelia Island Plantation, Marsh Lakes and Brady Point Preserve. In 2012, they formed a partnership to pursue real estate opportunities. Recognizing Crane Island as Amelia Island’s final waterfront property, the partners purchased it in 2014. The community is slated for completion in 2024.