Allison Walker, Your Home

Developers at Castle & Cooke say their new community debuting in the "Parade of Homes" this week is just one of six in the entire state of Florida with a special "green development" certification.

But, as News 13's Allison Walker explains, they also say restoring the old charm of early America is just as important.

Wayne McLaughlin, of Gotha, recently got his first look at Oakland Park, on the south shore of Lake Apopka.

"It reminds me of my Grandma's house, so it's reminiscent of old times," McLaughlin said.
   
The community is brand new, but the developer hopes to create an old, small-town charm.

"We did a study of the area and found that there were five very prevalent architectural styles in a settlement in the WWII era," said Bob Hennen, of Castle & Cooke.

Those styles include Colonial Revivals and Folk Victorian.

Hennen said each of the homes will meet the Florida Green Building Coalition's "green home" standards.
 
But Oakland Park's  "green development" certification is rare.

Hennan said only five other communities in Florida are at that level, and this is the first time it is happening in Central Florida.

Part of the reason for that certification is that the parks are landscaped with drought-tolerant native plants.

That means irrigation is only needed in the harshest of weather. When that does happen, the community is piped to irrigate with reclaim water.

"So this community will be very, very advanced in the use of minimizing the use of water," Hennan said.

The community will be minimizing water use, but maximizing the health of Florida's fourth largest lake -- Lake Apopka.

The developer said he is working with St. Johns River Water Management District on the restoration of the shoreline.

"This is a great idea. There will be no houses on the lakefronts, so you'll have a lake view, and that's a big difference," McLaughlin said.

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