Wow - summer is here and the 110º temps are finally knocking on the door. It's been a while since I have posted a blog and thought it was time to catch up. It's hard to believe that half of this year is nearly over.
Well a lot has been happening. First I want to congratulate our Evelyn Bhattan, who basically runs our operation, and who many of you have known for years - well her and her fiance, Scott Jung, were married today in Cancun, Mexico! My Evelyn, is all grown up. We all send our well wishes to both Scott and Evelyn from the entire Candelaria Design gang.
We are all weathering these tough economic times in the real estate and construction industry and it has been nice to see everyone come together and rebuild relationships, bend and lend a hand to help others, and offer support and encouragement when needed. As they say, its easy to be everyone's friend during the good times, but you really find out who your friends are during the tough times. Needless to say, we have been blessed with so many wonderful friends! We're all working together and we appreciate everyone's understanding and cooperation over the course of the last few years.
That being said, we are blessed to have a number of exciting projects going on here at Candelaria Design. We are completing plans on two beautiful new homes in Silverleaf and another in DC Ranch. All three are amazing homes. We were also pleased to hear that the home we designed in Silverleaf for West Development and Construction sold for $7.5 million last week - http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2010/05/26/20100526biz-donedeals0526.html?source=nletter-news nearly $700/sf!
We are also fortunate to be working on two projects in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. One is nearing completion of construction at Black Rock and another is on the boards in Hayden Lake. Both are spectacular lake homes in one of my favorite places in the world. Other projects beyond Phoenix include a stunning Pallazzo we designed in the middle of an 80 acre farm field in Yuma, another mountain home near Dolores, Colorado, and a formal Mediterranean courtyard home outside of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We have several amazing homes finishing construction in Paradise Valley and Arcadia and they will all complete this fall. Look for some upcoming features in LUXE magazine this summer.
Another major component of our work load is and has always been remodels, additions, and renovations. That usually surprises a lot of people but those projects have always made up half if not two-thirds of our work load. Given this market, we are seeing a lot of work here and we really enjoy them! I think clients always expect a new home design to be spectacular but are usually so surprised and amazed at how we can turn an existing home into something spectacular. The transformations always truly show off the creative ability of our Candelaria team! We have some very interesting remodel, renovation projects and it is amazing how many guest houses we are doing these days - this is definitely a trend with our aging population. In all cases I am always proud that we are creating something real that does create or keep real jobs.
Our Italy trip from September 1st - September 12th is a go and we have a great group going this year! I am very excited about our trip and the group traveling with us this year. I am excited to be traveling in September and seeing this part of Italy as fall approaches. Details on the trip and our pre-party will be coming out in the next two weeks. We do still have room for two more! See details of the trip on our Candelaria Design Italy Trip 2010 Facebook Fan Page. This is a great trip and a very unique way to experience one of the most magical areas of Italy.
Well - time to hit the pool with the kids and dog and then back to the drawing board! Thanks for all of the great projects and support!