Jill Kushner - Specializing in The Colony Golf & Bay Club, Bonita Springs, Florida FL - Downing-Frye Realty Inc.

If you haven't seen Navona lately, come see for yourself this professionally decorated corner residence where the elevator opens directly into your 17h floor foyer.

Navona #1705

3 bedroom/3.5 Bath home with wrap around panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico, Estero Bay, Bonita Beach, The Colony and the Raptor Bay golf courses. Unmatched sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico from the living area and master bedroom is only minutes away. Venture out and join the Navona experience, an outstanding theatre, barbecue area, indoor/outdoor social area & blue water pool. Superb fitness and two guest suites are also an elevator ride away. Take the shuttle to your own private beach, meet everyone at The Bay Club, your own private waterfront dining experience. Tennis, canoe/kayak parks, sailing and an endless array of activities are all open to the residents of Navona.
Navona Open House held on Saturdays from 1-4 pm.

As residents of The Colony and Pelican Landing, do you realize how LUCKY we are to have Mary Fink among our ranks? If you haven’t met her yet, Mary has been the Director of Tennis at The Colony for five years now and has been in the WCI family for 10 years. Her 4-6 hour days on site are filled by the clinics she holds for residents and guests and private lessons she offers to everyone from beginners to advanced players.

When I asked Mary about the daily clinics she teaches, she said she likes to focus primarily on things like doubles court positioning, shot selection and cardio drills to help improve speed, stamina, reaction time and recovery time. She plans her clinics to accommodate players of all levels and encourages players to find others with similar ability levels so that she can customize her clinics to their specific needs. When not racket-deep in clinics, the tennis pro schedules private lessons around her planned programs, doing her best to accommodate everyone’s schedule. Her 90 minute clinics cost as little as $20 and private lessons are available for $70.00 per hour or $40.00 per half hour.

In addition to clinics and private lessons, there are currently 5 interclub leagues at The Colony. The National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) is used to determine levels of competition and residents can compete on 3.0 50+ Ladies; 3.5 50+ Ladies; 3.0 60+ Men; 4.0/3.5 50+ Men; and 4.0/3.5 50+ Ladies teams.

Mary is originally from Medford Lakes, NJ and has been directing tennis programs in the Naples area for over 20 years. She’s been playing tennis for 42 years, having started at a parks program at the tender age of 7. She played #1 Singles and Doubles for West Chester University in PA, won the PA State Athletic Conference at #1 Singles and represented the Eastern Seaboard at Nationals in CA in 1983. She also played on the 5.0 team in Naples for many years and made it to Nationals in Palm Springs in 2003.

Mary’s expertise and her true love of the game is obvious and definitely one of the perks of living at TheColony. I asked Mary how she felt about her association with The Colony and she said, “I feel very proud and honored to be associated with the tennis program at The Colony. We have a great team of people who truly love to serve people! The tennis program continues to grow each year as we develop our beginners, introduce more teams and opportunities to play. It is truly a pleasure to work with our members and guests and see them enjoying our program as they do.”

If you are interested in learning more about the tennis programs available for residents and guests of The Colony, feel free to contact Mary at (239) 390-4711 or maryfink@wcicommunities.com.

Have you ever stopped to consider the merits of living in a high-rise? The Colony at Pelican Landing is home to some of the finest high rises in SW Florida with six 21-story residential towers, including Sorrento (the Colony’s first tower residence, premiering in 2001), Treviso, Palermo, Navona, La Scala and Florencia, the most recent tower, built in 2007. So, aside from being surrounded by the mangrove islands of Estero Bay Estuary or the gorgeous, unobstructed views of the Gulf of Mexico and Estero Bay, just what ARE the benefits of living in a high rise at The Colony?

The most obvious is having all the exterior maintenance of your home taken care of…everything from pest control and painting to keeping the pool bright / sparkling and mowing / trimming all that beautiful lush landscaping. You can sit back and enjoy it all without having to toil over it. Oh, the JOY of getting rid of all the aggravation of overseeing the landscaping!

Florencia Fitness

Navona Guest Suite

High-rise buildings worldwide have amazing amenities and the towers at The Colony are no exception! Depending on the residence, amenities at The Colony range from state-of-the-art fitness centers and resort style pools and jacuzzi/spas to business centers, state-of-the-art theatres, card / billiard / social rooms, guest suites, private libraries, garages, elevators and so much more! Additionally, high rises in general are centrally located in terms of entertainment districts, restaurants, shopping, transportation, etc. Again, The Colony certainly fits that profile. With the back door of Coconut Point Mall just a mile from the entrance to The Colony, you’ll find just about everything you could possibly want within a couple short minutes of home!

But there’s more! High rise HOAs are now getting social…coordinating happy hours, holiday gatherings, and seasonal events, offering a chance to get to know your neighbors in a relaxed setting. Residents enjoy the sense of community offered with this lifestyle and once you've met a few neighbors living in your building, you'll start feeling right at home.

High rise residences typically result in lower utility costs overall. Definitely no hot attics overhead or drafty basements underneath at The Colony! Additionally, many high rises will bulk-negotiate lower rates with utility providers, even when residents pay their bills individually, which results in cost savings for you! Residents at The Colony high rises will find their water & sewer, basic cable and HVAC maintenance included in their association fee, relieving them of those monthly expenses.

Treviso Theatre

You may also find insurance fees to be lower, which can be attributed to the fact that building codes are stricter in implementation for high-rise condominiums. Additionally, between on-site amenities and a plethora of entertainment destinations just a hop, skip and jump from home, think how much you’re saving on gasoline! And these days…that’s a HUGE savings!

Lastly, you couldn’t ask for better security than in a high rise. You are free to travel without the fear of leaving an obviously vacant home. Most buildings at The Colony provide Access Control Officers at the front desks during typical business hours; buildings are locked and owners must use electronic entry systems to access the building. Additionally, all but one of our buildings have below building, secured and monitored parking, which means no walking across dark parking lots alone at night. An added benefit to our parking garage is that it makes it easier to maintain your automobile, also a cost savings. Plus, you never have to worry about finding a parking place again! Sometimes, THAT can be worth a million bucks!

It’s plenty to think about, isn’t it? If you have any questions about living the high rise lifestyle, just give me a call. Jill Kushner 239-691-5505

Labels: Amenities, High-rise, Lifestyle