Home sweet home delayed

A couple with newborn twins can't wait for their new home to be built. But their experience has been frustrating.

By SHARON L. BOND

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 14, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Brighton Bay is a construction site of hundreds of apartments and houses, one of the last large, new communities to go up in a city that is essentially built-out. Sales and rentals are moving so it likely will be a success for Centex Homes.

But even by the company's own typical construction calendar, work on more than half of the homes already sold is behind schedule. Some people who had hoped to move in months ago still are waiting. There are many reasons, including an environmentally sensitive site, corporate changes at Centex and longer plan review required by the city of St. Petersburg.

For buyers such as Paul and Bobbi-Jo Willett, Brighton Bay is probably their only chance to build a house. But their experience has been frustrated by delays and lack of communication with the developer.

Last March the Willetts signed a contract with Centex Homes to build a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a pool and two-car garage in Brighton Bay.

"We saw ourselves there in late summer. Then they told us October or November. I think now we will get in the end of this month or beginning of February," Paul Willett, 37, said.

In the meantime the Willetts sold their previous home in St. Petersburg in July and stored their furniture and clothes. They moved to a nearby small house owned by friends in Massachusetts. Those friends are ready to escape the cold and reclaim their house.

Seven weeks ago, Mrs. Willett, 35, gave birth to twin boys, Jack and Ben, who share a crib. The tiny living room in the borrowed house has two car seats on the sofa, two bouncy chairs on the floor just behind the two swings with two babies rocking in them. A double stroller sits on the porch. Boxes of belongings are here and there.

"It's been a very stressful period," Willett said.

Centex hasn't violated its contract with the Willetts, although it is taking longer than planned to finish their house and others in Brighton Bay. The fine print of the contract says the house must be completed in two years.

Willett said he and his wife feel they were strung along by Centex when they would have been better off if they had been told straight out there would be a long delay.

Willett said they were assured at different times in the process, particularly when Mrs. Willett got to the very pregnant stage, that they would be taking their babies home to their new house. That, of course, did not happen. Centex knocked $1,000 off the $195,000 contract price to compensate for the Willets' inconvenience, among other things.

"It bothered me that I couldn't have a nursery to bring home my brand-new babies," Mrs. Willett said.

"The Willetts are obviously upset. We have been aware of that and tried to deal with it," said Michael Belmont, division president of the West Florida division for Centex Homes.

They aren't the only ones getting into their homes later than planned. Centex likes to complete its houses in six to nine months, Belmont said. By that schedule, more than half the homes sold at Brighton Bay went longer, he said. Some delays were the result of changes made by homeowners, he said.

"One of our difficulties going in, it's a very unique site. There are flood plain issues. We had to raise the site quite a bit," Belmont said. "That affected the way the product sits on a lot."

Plans had to be revised. In the middle of all of this, Centex consolidated its operations in Tampa and Sarasota, which complicated things, Belmont said. He delegated more duties, which meant he personally did not reply to the three letters Willett sent last year concerning the delays. However, he said the project's sales and construction manager talked to the Willets.

City review of building plans probably took longer because of the environmental sensitivity of the tract, the fact building was done on filled land and proximity to a flood plain, according to David Goodwin, assistant director of the city's Development Services Department.

The 168-acre Brighton Bay tract -- if built as planned -- will have more than 1,000 residences: 120 single-family houses, 150 townhomes and 776 apartments. It sits on Tampa Bay. It is one of the last, large places in St. Petersburg where buyers can build new houses. Most of the city's land is developed.

"It's large for what we have been getting in the last 10 to 15 years," Goodwin said.

Dan and Cindi Lance were one of the many Pinellas families who moved south several years ago to Bradenton, where new housing is more plentiful and often cheaper than in Pinellas. After a few years, Lance sold his business and wanted to start another. Both wanted to return to St. Petersburg.

The Lances found a house already built but not sold in Brighton Bay and moved right in. Location was one of the main reasons they chose the Centex development. Lance is starting a new business nearby.

"We were looking for a new home. There really aren't many in Pinellas County," Lance said. He and his family have lived at Brighton Bay for four months, and it hasn't been bad being in a construction zone, he said.

Anne and Matthew Smith also have been in Brighton Bay for four months and echo Lance in saying the surrounding construction is not much of a distraction.

"We were looking for new construction, and this is about the last new construction in St. Petersburg," Mrs. Smith said. Location also was important because Matthew Smith works at Jabil Circuit Inc., one of several employers near Brighton Bay.

The Smiths illustrate the importance of Brighton Bay to the city of St. Petersburg.

"The demand for new homes or the ability to provide housing is critical for a business making a decision about where to locate," Goodwin said. "Employees have to be able to find housing."

Closing date for the Willetts is Jan. 22, and they are still excited about getting in the house.

"We knew there wouldn't be many more new houses to move into in our lifetime. We wanted to make the most of this one." Willett says in the end, the worst thing about the whole process was the lack of communication.

As for Centex, Belmont said looking back, he wishes he had gotten in touch with the Willetts. Delays don't do the company any good, he said, since buyers only put down a small deposit and Centex uses its money to build the houses. "Delays are certainly not something in our business plan."

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