According to Palisades resident Larry Bucciarelli, when Lennar presents plans for the first several houses to HABR for approval it will be extremely important for Palisades residents to appear and make themselves heard. Most of Palisades is protected by a legally defined set of historically based aesthetic criteria and Lennar’s corporate design proposals can be adapted to blend in with surrounding context if neighbors speak up promptly and firmly. This is the only way to educate the developer about our hamlet, which is already a cohesive community with a strong point of view.

With annual sales of $9 billion, Lennar is the third largest home building corporation in the nation (behind Horton and Pulte) and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. In 2005, they built 42,000 houses. According to Business Week, (April 3, 2006) Lennar’s corporate strategy is to maintain a strong cash position and use this leverage to buy out smaller builders and undeveloped tracts at favorable prices; in other words, they have “plenty of money for vulture acquisitions in a softening market”.

The company does not do individual houses – they build only in planned community groups. It is not clear from their marketing approach what kind of relationship they envision ought to develop between their prefabricated communities and the older communities surrounding them.

Unlike some of its competitors, Lennar has a good track record for building better quality houses, although standardized, highly controlled design offerings restrict customers to a short list of unimaginative cookie-cutter architectural options. Houses sold as “Everything’s Included” come with all the luxuries pre-selected and ready for you to move in; others sold as “Design Studio” options allow the buyer to pay extra for some features to customize the house while it’s being built. The luxury aspect emphasizes electronic systems designed to provide security, control and convenience.

Lennar appears to be a good corporate citizen. They support a number of charitable causes ranging from Habitat for Humanity to cancer treatment facilities with corporate donations (predominantly in Florida and across the South). They also claim to support environmental issues via energy efficiency and choice of construction products that are safer for the environment. In California, in 2004, Lennar Homes of California, Inc. helped to pass a $12.3 billion (yes, billion!) state public education facilities bond act (Prop 55), with a $100,000.00 donation. It’s hard to argue with a sincere commitment to support funding to improve schools. Let’s pretend we don’t notice the obvious correlation between better schools and higher real estate values…

Why haven’t we seen much in the way of sales information about these new homesites in our hamlet? New York law requires that builders register their communities and plans with the state before any sales information or anything that can be considered soliciting can be given out. Once this hurdle is crossed, Lennar’s perky promise to keep new customers “Tickled, Delighted and Happy throughout the entire new home experience” will soon become a public proposition in our community.