The Overture at Dr.Phillips

Background

The Dr. Phillips area of Orlando, named for Dr. Phillip Phillips, a local citrus grower and innovator in the 1950s, has been called one of the best places to live in Florida by Money Magazine. Located on the edge of Universal Studios, the community boasts beautiful shopping malls, many restaurants, and upscale residential communities. When nationally acclaimed Greystar™ developers chose the Dr. Phillips location for its new Overture 55+ active adult apartment homes, the company sought to build “beautifully crafted residences and resort-inspired amenities” reflecting the charm of the community with easy access to all it offers.

Landscape architect Architectural Alliance was chosen to design hardscapes to complement the modern, contemporary theme envisioned for the property. This included the pool, welcoming front entranceway and signage, gates and fine furnishings within those areas, as well as a dog park.

The Challenge

“It was unique for us,” says Brian Euell, RLA, project director for Architectural Alliance. “The customer wanted a seamless look with not a lot of joint spacing.” Additionally, at the front entrance, Architectural Alliance wanted to create a unique pattern that they haven’t used before, and which would be different from the way other developments in the area looked.

The Solution

In choosing materials for the project, Architectural Alliance considered porcelain paving in the lounge area and for the amenity deck, but they weren’t very economical. They instead chose Belgard’s Moduline Combo 4×12 & 4×16 and Holland ground face pavers because they provided elegance while being more economical.

“We like to use cool grays and whites together because they lend a clean, modern look to amenities such as cabanas, outdoor and lounge furniture,” says Euell. “Belgard Commercial had a lot of colors and patterns we could design with, so we chose Pewter, Gray, Charcoal and White, and decided to alternate the colors end-to-end. The colors also worked well with the pool tile selection.”

Around the pool, the Belgard pavers’ traditional ground face, where the top of the paver is ground to expose natural aggregates –typically pieces of white – adds design interest. They also used a Black Beauty paver with black sand added that becomes exposed when ground as well. At the front entrance, they went with a “u” shape with alternating color bands of gray, white and charcoal. Moduline Combo 4×12 and 4×16 were used in the front entrance, at 4” thick to withstand vehicle traffic.

The Result

Olympic Pavers, which does residential paver and pool deck jobs, as well as commercial and multi-family projects, installed the pavers by hand, paying careful attention to the color-pattern design Euell and his team created. “Belgard’s color blends and product lines are very easy to use and just beautiful when it all comes together,” says Courtney Blair, operations manager for Olympic Pavers.

Overture – Dr. Phillips was completed in 2019 and offers one- and two-bedroom apartments and amenities that include a dog park, movie theater, outdoor entertainment lounge, sun deck and outside terrace, grilling station and fire pits and more.

“We’re very happy with how it turned out and it’s been well received by residents. We’ve had many good comments from them. In fact, we’re doing the same pattern on another project for Greystar,” says Euell.