As a New Homes Specialist, I enjoy taking time out to preview the new communities being built around the Tampa Bay Area. Specifically, I like to focus on the ones that are within a 45 minute drive of the Largo/Seminole area. Primarily, it’s a huge myth that if you want to live in Pinellas County (or close to it), you cannot buy new.

The latest in my visits was to the brand new community of new homes Meritage Bearss Landing has underway. When I was there (October 2018), the only thing completed was the model homes…and the rest was in the works. The pool was under construction and buildings 1, 2 and 18 were the only ones out of the ground. I’d love to show you around this one as it grows, so use the form below to request a showing or call me at 727-888-3292 if you’re interested.

The Area

This community has been built in a really convenient location. It’s in north Tampa off of Bearss Ave, about 10 minutes from the highway. It only took me about 40 minutes to get there from the Largo area. It was a really easy drive and convenient to downtown Tampa and northern Pinellas County.

The Community

This smaller community is a great fit for those looking for comfort, convenience and affordability. There’s a pool and clubhouse, but that’s about it. Bearss Ave. (to the south) isn’t very busy where they built the Landing. The north and west is all wetland conservation. Buchanan Middle School is directly to the east. There are only 22 separate buildings in the plan with a total of 115 townhomes (4 to 6 per building).

New Homes Meritage Bearss Landing

I found this neighborhood very unique and intriguing for a number of reasons. Primarily, it’s size and style will very easily lead to a very close-knit community. The buildings are grouped fairly closely together so it should be easy to make your way around it. Meritage is focused on life built better and energy efficient construction.

• The new homes Meritage Bearss Landing are all “Live Now” homes. This is their way of simplifying the process while providing some personalization without leaving too much room for error. This means:
  • There are 6 options of floor plans. All are 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2 car garages with a width across of roughly 24 linear feet. They feel SUPER spacious and have about 9.5′ ceiling heights on both the main floor AND the second story.

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    The community is planned out already. Each floor plan has a designated home site established. So you can pick the townhome location OR the floorplan, but you can’t just have any floorplan put on any home site.
    
    

  • Since the community is really built for simplicity and quick construction (with minimal possible hiccups along the way), which means your customization options are a little slim. There are four different finish combinations (packages) to choose from, and you take it as it comes (so you can’t swap out tile from one for another option). But they’re really good choices, so I think they’ve got the best of all worlds combined when you see them in the homes!
    
    

• Meritage Homes is differentiating their builds by focusing on energy efficiency. For those of us in sunny (hot) Florida, this has a huge impact on the long-term affordability of our home options.
  
  • Energy Efficient
    All of the homes they’re constructing in Bearss Landing boast a HERS (Home Energy Ratings System) score between 50 and 70. The lower the number, the better. They have LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, 15 SEER air conditioning units, Low-E windows…..the list goes on and on.  Best of all: the attics have spray-foam insulation in the attics, so you can actually USE that space for storage. it was 90 outside and 74 in the Model 1 attic on the day I was there. No joke!
    
    
  • Water Efficient
    They used water-efficient faucets that keep strong pressure. So you don’t have to sacrifice the shower pressure to save water. All of the units have dual-flush toilets and 50-gallon, endless supply water heaters. They’re thinking ahead to your annual investment into your home expenses by helping manage usage.
    
    
  • Live Efficient
    Had to keep with the theme, LOL! Bearss Landing townhomes come equipped with some smart technology included, and some that you can add on when you select your home site. All homes have Ring doorbells, smart front and garage lights, and Bluetooth Kevo locks installed (so you can pair with your phone and unlock your door just by your phone being near it). It makes your home safer and easier to move through.
    
    

Although these are not 100% custom, they’ve thought ahead to cover the most popular, yet timeless tastes. Benefit: you can move in pretty darn quick! The first few buildings will be ready for move-in come November/December. Their build-schedule estimates about 1 month lead time needed from contract, so if you’re looking for “new” but not super custom (which would mean a hefty price tag), this is perfect for you. And they’re quite affordable! Prices start in the mid-$200K range (one that’s available in November with 1,756 sq ft is priced at about $270K), so that’s a lot of bang for your buck!

New Homes Meritage Bearss Landing Tampa – Video Intro