New Entrance Signs At Hunter’s Green

For more than 20 years, the same column-style brick signs have welcomed guests and residents who drive into the lush neighborhoods and country club of the Hunter’s Green community, but this month, that look has been upgraded with three new signs, complete with new landscaping and LED lights to show off the fresh facelift.

“Everyone seems to love it,” says Hunter’s Green Community Association, Inc., manager Ann Johnson. “I haven’t received a single email from someone saying they didn’t like the new signs.”

The Hunter’s Green Board of Directors has been talking for two years about replacing the two massive, dated signs on both BBD and Cross Creek Blvd. (across from Hunter’s Green Elementary). According to Johnson, however, this month was the perfect time to modernize the entryway to the 1,400-acre community. The construction of the sign coincided with the continued widening of BBD from Palm Springs Blvd to Pebble Creek Dr., which has been slowing down traffic directly outside the community since early 2010.

“We saved and budgeted for it,” said Johnson about the $130,000 the homeowners association set aside for the updates. “We spent it wisely.”

Hunter’s Green has previously been voted the Top Master-Planned Community in the Southeast by the National Association of Home Builders, but the new signs boast a fresher, more modern look than the old brick pillars and gold lettering that were once in front of the community’s gatehouse on BBD. The new signs seem to blend in more with the canopy of shade trees that sit behind it. In the upcoming weeks, landscapers will plant oakleaf holly trees, along with some smaller shrubs, to further decorate the exterior with a natural feel.

Dennis Carr of Elevation Architecture worked with Doug Bartley, the treasurer of the Hunter’s Green Community Association, to choose a design that would accurately represent the 17 villages in the community, which have traditionally valued a fondness for Florida’s wildlife, with preserves for protected woodstorks and gopher tortoises. Together, Carr and Bartley settled on the current signs, which were built in less than 40 days.

Hunter’s Green resident Edwin Ilcken, the owner of Mak Homes, was the contractor for the project. He says the construction of the sign went smoothly.

“I’ve lived here for eight years, and built my own home in Heritage Oaks,” said Ilcken. “I like being involved with community projects.”