Divco's diversity on display in new Imperial River home
BONITA SPRINGS — Divco Custom Homes has been a leading luxury home builder in Southwest Florida for 38 years with their craftsmanship on display in numerous country club communities, Marco Island and Old Naples. One of the home builder's current residences is on the Imperial River in Bonita Springs. It is nearing completion and is a perfect example of the way the homebuilder is diversifying to accommodate the specific needs of today’s homebuyers.
Tom & Karyn Matey are originally from Youngstown, Ohio where for the past 25 years they have been married and raising three children.
“I work as a director of sales for a major software company and Karyn is the CEO of the Matey household,” said Tom. “I am able to work from my home office so we are fortunate that we can live anywhere.”
For the past 10 years, the Mateys have vacationed in Southwest Florida and fell in love with the area. Their attachment grew to the point where four to five years ago they began to think seriously about moving here.
“About two years ago, we decided to do it,” said Tom. “The timing was perfect for our children. Our two sons are in college and our youngest daughter was beginning high school last fall so we decided to plan a move here in the summer of 2016 so she could begin high school fresh at Estero High School.”
With the timing of the move settled, next up was to find a home. The Mateys soon decided they wanted to build a new home so they focused on the right spot. After six months of searching, they found a homesite on the Imperial River in Bonita Springs.
“It is ideally suited for us,” said Tom. “The site is the perfect combination of peacefulness and privacy. We wanted a place that was relatively quiet but not boring and there is just the right amount of activity and wildlife on the water behind us.”
Deciding on a builder was the next decision. They began researching custom home builders and asking lots of questions. The Mateys had built one home previously in Ohio, but knew that this was going to be a much more complicated undertaking.
“In Ohio we built a production home 20 years ago. It was a lovely residence, but it was smaller and we only had a few options to decide on before building. Here, we wanted a home that would maximize the potential of the home site that we picked.”
They evaluated four or five builders and finally decided on Divco Custom Homes after falling in love with the company’s furnished models throughout the area. After talking to numerous people who had Divco build their home, in December of 2015 they signed a contract with Divco for a new custom built home.
“The Matey’s home is a great example of Divco’s diverse capabilities as a luxury, custom home builder,” said Alan Foster, vice president of Divco Custom Homes. “We are able to accommodate our customers, using a wide breadth of architectural styles and construction techniques in their unique locations.”
The Matey’s agreed that Divco’s expertise has been evident in the construction process.
“Divco was very patient with us throughout the process, especially Alan Foster. He assembled the team for a meeting to review plans and go over the entire process with us from permitting through construction. Their close relationship with the interior designer, Kathleen Scanlon, was very important to us. Divco went the extra mile and it has paid off.”
The Matey’s home site presented challenges and opportunities. First was positioning the home on the site to maximize the views. Then, the first-floor living area had to be raised because of the flood zone. To get maximum livability out of the home, they expanded the pool and lanai and decided to have them raised so they sat at the same level as the main living area a floor above ground level so that the flow between the indoor and outdoor living areas would be seamless. On the third floor, they added a balcony that offers views down the Imperial River and sunsets.
“Of course, a lot of planning also went into my home office where I still spend most of my days,” said Matey. “It has to be comfortable and functional for me.”
Ground was broken on the new home in May of last year and the Matey’s are scheduled to move in by early summer.
“Working with Divco has been a pleasure,” said Tom. “As I told them early in the process I understand that issues will always arise. The key is addressing them in a collaborative way and to be upfront about any problems and delays in a project as complicated as this. Divco has done that and it has been a pleasure working with them. We cannot wait to move into our beautiful new home.”
Established in 1979, Divco has built an impressive portfolio consisting of nearly 1,350 distinctive luxury homes in nearly 60 different Southwest Florida communities. Divco Custom Homes has been widely recognized for design and construction excellence. Divco Custom Homes is headquartered at 6628 Willow Park Drive, Naples. Online at www.divcohomes.com.