When a popular community on the water in Fort Myers has no more land left to build on, the new phase begins: teardowns. That’s exactly what developer Frank Jenkins is doing right now in Gulf Harbour. But instead of doing it one at a time, Jenkins recently tore down two adjacent homes on three lots and is building three new houses simultaneously.

“This is not the first tear down for sure,” Jenkins began. “I think we are going to be seeing more of it. A lot of those older floor plans are just so outdated, and they are not the open floor plans that everyone wants today.”

Jenkins said it is often easier for him to do a tear down than to try to open up an older house with structural walls that hold up various rooms.

The 545 acre Gulf Harbour Yacht and Country Club was first acquired by a developer in 1994 with a grand opening held in 1995. Most of the homes were built in the late 1990s and early 2000s and while that is just over 20 years ago, Jenkins said that’s old for the customers that want new, modern builds.

“It’s crazy,” Jenkins said.

Yet for the local developer, it’s also like coming home. He built some of the first homes in Gulf Harbour when it was originally established. Now he’s building the next generation.

“I have been there since the beginning,” Jenkins said. “Over the years Gulf Harbour has revamped everything. It provides so many amenities.”

All three of his clients already have homes in Gulf Harbour and wanted something newer and more modern.

“They are all totally custom,” Jenkins said about the three houses. “All three are different., two are two story homes, the one in the middle is a larger single story. They will have all the new features and the really, really nice outdoor areas to take advantage of the river views. Everything is just high end.”

Jenkins built the Vogt family’s first home in Gulf Harbour in 2000. The DePrey’s have a condo in the community and the Glass family had a penthouse in the Gulf Harbour. They will all soon be neighbors when they move into their new homes built by Jenkins.

Brett and Nicole Glass said they didn’t want to leave the community they love, so when they sold their penthouse, they contracted with Jenkins to build them a single family home in the community.

“It is very unique in Southwest Florida,” Brett Glass said about Gulf Harbour. “Inside the gates, you have got a really great diversity of price points, but also just the amenities in Gulf Harbour are really unparalleled.They remodeled the health club and just redid the golf club. There is really fun casual dining, and then the marina. This is the nicest marina I have ever been too. At Gulf Harbour you just have an unobstructed view of all the boats and the harbor.”

Glass feels fortunate to have secured this waterfront lot where his home is being built.

“I think it was unusual that we were able to find an empty lot on the water,” he explained. “There were three lots next to each other. We happened to get the very last one so we feel very fortunate to get that very last lot on the water. The street that it is on is the very best street in Gulf Harbour. It is just aesthetically beautiful.”

The three couples worked together to build a beach that stretches across the properties.

“It is probably not known as a place with white sand, but it has a beautiful white sand beach,” Glass described. “Each property is 110 feet so we have 330 feet of beach with the three lots. It’s about 30 feet wide. It’s big. It is not a little narrow beach. You can do a lot. I picture kids running up and down the beach.”

While the other two couples are designing two story homes, the Glass family wanted a 5,000 square foot single story house with five bedrooms and a spacious lanai.

“We really created a real large area that will be a rock star outdoor area,” Glass described. “We will have an outdoor kitchen and a lot of outdoor living area.”

Glass is also excited about incorporating some new technology into his home.

“The water vapor fire place is the newest thing,” he gushed. “It runs a water line into the fireplace and turns the water into a colored water vapor. We have challenged him (Jenkins) to show us the latest things so we are not in the middle of a trend.”

The Glass’s hope to move into their new coastal contemporary style home next spring.

“I think these three homes together right on that street will be a great update to that part of Gulf Harbour,” Glass concluded.

Dwayne Bergmann is doing interiors for the Glass house and the two story home next door. He said the homes will have clean details and will be more contemporary than some of the older nearby houses.

“We are mixing wood and stone in the majority of our finishes,” Bergmann said as he described the Glass house. “The kitchen has beautiful wood oak cabinetry with bronze metal detail over the hood. There’s waterfall marble, two tone cabinetry and some painted elements mixed in.”

Bergmann is also excited about some of the more creative elements such as the vapor fireplace and a living green wall. The elongated fireplace runs the length of the great room and is backed with marble slabs hand selected from Italy.

“It is a simple clean mix in of these elements of marble, glass, and metal and wood which is a very contemporary type of ensemble.” Bergmann described. “It is just beautiful when you are creating this linear effect with the fire, and it has no heat.”

The living green wall in the outdoor kitchen is like a vertical garden.

“It is something new and interesting,” Bergmann said. “It’s a new idea. They are setting a little trend.”

Bergmann said that while the home will be more modern than the penthouse that the Glass family is moving from, it will still have a welcoming feel.

“One of the other design details that I would like to convey is that even though we are pursuing this contemporary styling, the color scheme is warm and inviting,” he stressed. “It is very livable type of home, especially in this market. It is a more contemporary look, but not the Miami modern found on the other coast. This is very warm and creates this inviting atmosphere. That is the balance we are trying to achieve.”

The two story home that Bergmann is also working on will also have some special elements.

“They do have a beautiful grand staircase that will be visible from the exterior and when you walk in,” Bergmann said. “We do have a contemporary approach for the staircase and railing detail. The railing detail will be really unique. It will be a beautiful spiral staircase. It definitely will be a focal point.”

The house will also have a wine room incorporated into the media room wall. There will be a theater on the second floor. Bergmann said this house will be a bit more formal and will feature 60 inch by 60 inch polished porcelain tile. The light flooring will be contrasted with darker wood detailing.

“There will be a little bit more drama and a little bit more formality and a bit more glamour that we will sprinkle in throughout the home,” Bergmann said.