In a lot of ways, Tavistock Development Co. has been down this road before.
The developer is dubbing Sunbridge — its newest master-planned community that spans 27,000 acres in both Orange and Osceola counties — a "naturehood," thanks to a blend of design, emphasis on its native landscape and innovation related to sustainability.
Because of that emphasis, the project is seeing initiatives that are both forward-thinking and, in some cases, expensive — especially on the front-end for its developers and builders.
Rob Adams, Tavistock's senior vice president of residential development, acknowledged to Orlando Business Journal that it "isn't always the most popular ask" to add to costs at the same time as construction costs are rising.
However, builders involved in Sunbridge — including Ashton Woods, David Weekley Homes, Craft Homes, Pulte Homes and Toll Brothers — see the value in being out in front of market trends, he said.
After all, the same builders were involved in a similar situation years earlier in Laureate Park, which is a neighborhood in Tavistock's popular Lake Nona community in southeast Orlando.
"When we started Laureate Park over a decade ago, reducing the energy use of the home was a major focus for Tavistock," Adams said. "We introduced stronger standards to builders than the market saw at that time and, frankly, had to nudge some of them along into the program. But over the past 10 years, those efficiencies really have become the norm for construction."
What these stronger standards look like so far in Sunbridge can be seen in the emerging Weslyn Park neighborhood of the master-planned development. Homes in Weslyn Park will have wood-frame construction, a minimum 4.25-kW rooftop solar photovoltaic system, pre-wiring for electric vehicles and landscaping designed for low-water needs.
The master developer also has partnered with Orlando-based 832 Communications, a technology service company, to provide 10G fiber to the home internet service to the community's anticipated 10,000 residents.
Those standards and the innovation driving them are expected to save residents money, on top of their sustainability benefits. For instance, Adams said the standard 4.25-kW system should generate enough electricity to offset energy bills by about $60 per month, or $720 annually. Saving money on water bills due to lawns that do not need a high level of maintenance also can be incorporated into the tabulation.
Among the tech companies helping make the ambitious goals of Sunbridge a possibility is Tesla, perhaps the most well-known of the solar roof providers involved.
Homes in Sunbridge range between $400,000-$800,000, according to a Tavistock spokesperson, and many — if not all — of those homes will be built with wood-frame construction, another of the developer's nods toward sustainability. Benefits, according to Adams, include higher energy efficiency, the usage of a renewable resource with a lower carbon footprint and more efficient — and dynamic — design.
Adams told OBJ the emphasis on wood-frame construction is not necessarily a cost incentive consideration, explaining that because the price of lumber fluctuates, "it's neither more nor less expensive." As for potential concerns over termite and other types of damage, he said the homes come with the same warranties as other types of construction and that they haven't encountered hesitations related to those concerns.
Of course, the headline item of the standards remains the solar roofs and their potential not only to save money — but perhaps to keep the lights on in Weslyn Park in the event of a hurricane or other storm-induced power outage.
It was part of the reason cited by Chris Gray, the chief technologies officer for Renu Communities — a subsidiary of Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings LLC — as to why his firm is investing $600 million in a venture aimed at ESG-centric decarbonization, and which has led off its efforts with the retrofitting of two Orlando-area apartment complexes.
Gray, who is not involved with Tavistock's efforts, told OBJ the investment into the retrofits — which are headlined by rooftop solar with new sharing technology that allows for panels to service multiple units — were especially important "in a time when severe weather throughout the state regularly threatens the electric grid."
"Our retrofits help [lessen] the cost to residents, provide a more comfortable living environment and provide a tenant more control over their energy bill."
Meanwhile, Florida has about 461 solar companies as of fourth-quarter 2022, including 229 installers/developers, 63 manufacturers and 169 others, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Solar Energy Industries Association. The Sunshine State ranks No. 3 for total solar capacity installed.
The U.S. added 20.2 gigawatts of new solar capacity in 2022, down 16% from 2021, according to a Solar Energy Industries Association report done in partnership with United Kingdom-based energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
The report attributed the drop to an investigation into new anti-circumvention tariffs by the U.S. Department of Commerce as well as equipment being detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection tied to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
“While 2022 was a tough year for the solar industry, we do expect some of the supply-chain issues to ease, propelling 2023 growth to 41%,” Michelle Davis, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie and lead report author, said in a prepared statement. “With major uncertainties ahead of the industry, our high- and low-case scenarios can help the industry benchmark potential outcomes."
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