Northeast Florida’s Crane Island Chosen for Southern Living’s 2019 Idea House

Crane Island, the new 185-acre master-planned community under development on Amelia Island, has been chosen as the site for Southern Living’s 2019 Idea House.

Each year, Southern Living chooses one location in the Southeast to build its Idea House. For this year’s Idea House, Crane Island Real Estate LLC, architecture firm Historical Concepts, Jax-based homebuilder Riverside Homes, and interior designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas make up the all-star team assembled by the brand.

The Idea House will be built along the Intracoastal Waterway within Crane Island, which will soon become a 113-home luxury community.

“Crane Island is honored to host the 2019 Southern Living Idea House,” says Jack Healan, Jr., president and co-developer of Crane Island. “This world-class team of national and regional talent has come together to create a modern Southern home that fits seamlessly into the fabric of our island within an island. This milestone marks an important chapter not just in the story of Crane Island, but for the greater Amelia Island community as well.”

The four-bedroom, 4,540 square foot home will embody the Lowcountry lifestyle as well as the nearby Fernandina Beach Historic District. Design highlights include a hidden pantry, a wine bar, an elevator, and a nine-foot sliding glass wall to provide optimal views of the waterfront.

There’s also a strong emphasis on merging the indoor-outdoor experience, with front and back porches on both levels and a total of 2,250 square feet of porch space.

“The heart of the home is the living and gathering areas, where the kitchen and living room merge and spill into the rear and screened porches,” says Chris Wood, vice president at Riverside Homes. “Throughout the design process, we thought of our own families and how we spend time together. This multigenerational home will be a place for parents, grandparents and children to enjoy at various stages of life.”

A groundbreaking ceremony for the house took place on November 16, with construction set to be completed in May 2019.

The Idea House has already been made available for sale by Crane Island Real Estate, with homes in the community ranging from $800,000 to $3,000,000.