Home Builders Announced for Asturia - Master-Planned, Mixed-Use Community in Tampa, FL

Behnke Ranch to be Renamed Asturia

(TAMPA, FL) – Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that the recently acquired 536-acre Behnke Ranch property in Tampa, FL, on which the firm will develop a signature mixed-use, master-planned community, will now be named Asturia.

Slated to be the most sustainable, eco-friendly community in metro Tampa, the development plans include retail, office, multi-family and a variety of single-family residential offerings with an unmatched amenity package that will include recreational parks, a trail network, playgrounds, picnic areas and an impressive community clubhouse and central town hall with a fitness center and a luxurious resort-style swimming pool.

Hines also announced today that the home builders on this signature development will include Ashton Woods Homes and David Weekley Homes.

Both builders are well known for their eco-friendly and energy-efficient new homes, and are well suited to launch the single-family component of this sustainable community.

Both builders will construct multiple single-family product types, offering homebuyers several price-point options within the community, in both traditional neighborhood (TND) and conventional home styles.

The first phase of homes is expected to be available in Spring 2015.

“Asturia presents a terrific opportunity for a high-quality, mixed-use master-planned community, and we are pleased that we are partnering with Ashton Woods Homes and David Weekley Homes.

Both are best-in-class, award-winning builders who will bring great architecture and innovative design to the development,” noted Hines Managing Director Lane Gardner.

Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation's largest private homebuilding companies, known throughout the industry for building homes with award-winning designs that inspire and offer homebuyers a high level of personalization options.

Ashton Woods specifically builds new homes that enhance people's lives by balancing lifestyle, design and healthy-house features with energy efficiency.

“Ashton Woods is very selective about where we build homes. Asturia’s location in Pasco County, the community design and Hines’ reputation and development expertise are the right fit for us and our future homebuyers,” stated Ashton Woods Florida Division President John Reny.

David Weekley Homes has grown to become the largest privately-held home builder in America and is known for excellent customer service, providing homes with classic exteriors with timeless appeal, and numerous floor plans and elevations.

Additionally, David Weekley’s EnergySaver™ homes offer homebuyers a unique combination of energy-efficient building techniques and principles that are cost effective.

“We are thrilled to partner with Hines and be a part of Asturia,” says David Weekley Homes Tampa Division President Mark Thomas. “This is going to be a beautiful master-planned community, offering wonderful amenities for homebuyers and Tampa-area residents. As the 2013 National Builder of the Year, David Weekley Homes is excited to introduce fresh, newly-designed floor plans for today’s homebuyer in Asturia.”

In addition to launching the community and selecting the homebuilders, Hines has commenced marketing the retail, office and multi-family sites to developers, retailers and end users.

Given its central location on SR-54 and its proximity to the Suncoast Parkway, Hwy 41, Hwy 19 and I-75, as well as the Tampa International Airport and the Westshore submarket, Hines expects to attract national retailers, corporate office users and garden-style apartment developers to Asturia.

Asturia has approved zoning and entitlements in place for the construction of 550 single-family homes, 200 townhomes, 440 multifamily units, up to 380,000 square feet of commercial/office space, and 350,000 square feet of office/light industrial space.

As master developer, Hines will manage the design and development of the community master plan, including the residential neighborhoods, community amenities, parks, primary infrastructure, as well as the community branding, marketing and the sale of residential lots, multi-family parcels and commercial parcels within the community.

For more information on Asturia and available parcels, please visit www.AsturiaFlorida.com.

Hines has been a national leader in land and community development for more than four decades, and has master planned and developed approximately 36,800 residential units encompassing more than 12,000 acres of land.

Several high-profile master-planned Hines communities in the U.S. include: Palencia in St. Augustine, FL; First Colony in Sugar Land, TX; Las Colinas in Irving, TX; Cool Springs in Franklin, TN; Aspen Highlands and Five Trees in Aspen, CO; and Deerfield in Atlanta, GA.

Currently in the Southeast Region, Hines is developing the award-winning 2,400-acre Palencia community; the 314-acre Southaven community; Azure, a 308-unit multifamily community in Carillon Park in St. Petersburg, FL; Celebration Lofts, a 306-unit multifamily community in Celebration in Orlando, FL; as well as Aviva, a 276-unit residential complex in Miami. Hines is also redeveloping the Marco Island Marriott and also currently owns and/or manages in excess of two million square feet of Class A office space in Florida.

About Ashton Woods Homes

Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, with operations in Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Dallas, Houston, Killeen, Orlando, Phoenix, San Antonio, Sarasota, Raleigh and Tampa.

Recently recognized as the #1 Most Trusted Homebuilder in America for the second year in a row by the Lifestory Research 2014 Most Trusted Builder in America Study SM, Ashton Woods is known throughout the industry for building homes with award-winning designs that inspire, and offering homebuyers a high level of personalization options.

Ashton Woods is also the only builder to nationally utilize the Environments for Living Platinum Program, a program that certifies the energy efficient status of our homes.

For more information, visit www.ashtonwoodshomes.com.

About David Weekley Homes

David Weekley Homes, founded in 1976, is headquartered in Houston and operates in 18 cities across the United States. David Weekley Homes was the first builder in the United States to be awarded the Triple Crown of American Home Building, an honor which includes “America’s Best Builder,” “National Housing Quality Award” and two-time recipient of “National Builder of the Year.” Weekley has also appeared eight times on FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For®” list. Since inception, David Weekley Homes has closed more than 75,000 homes. For more information about David Weekley Homes, visit the company’s website at www.davidweekleyhomes.com.

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,317 properties representing more than 541 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. Currently, Hines manages 391 properties totaling 161 million square feet, which includes 89.1 million square feet for third parties. With offices in 115 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $28.2 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Hines is also a world leader in sustainable real estate strategies, with extensive experience in LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, BREEAM, Haute Qualité Environnementale and DGNB green building rating systems.

Visit www.hines.com for more information.

Asturia Master Plan