Suwanee, Ga. – The 2008 Atlanta magazine Dream Home will open at The River Club Nov. 1! The magazine engaged Jim Bankes, Inc., one of The River Club's Builder Guild members, to construct this year's Dream Home. Deemed "Villa Bella Vista" for its Tuscan inspiration, the show home features three levels of luxurious living spaces, including inviting outdoor rooms for year-round use. The 2008 Dream Home overlooks the second hole of The River Club's Greg Norman-designed golf course, as well as one of the community's five lakes.

The Dream Home will be open for tours Nov. 1-30. Visit www.theriver-club.com or call (877) 298-4238 for more information.

Palm Coast, Fla. – LandMar’s newest master-planned community, Grand Landings, is beginning to take shape with the completion of the entry feature and guard house. Three highly anticipated models are also nearing completion as the community prepares for its grand opening in November. Grand Landings offers homesites from the $70s and homes starting in the low $200s, making now a great time to buy.

Palm Coast’s best value for club living has never been more affordable. For information, call (866) 455-1602 or click here to learn more.  

Payson, Ariz. – Late summer is an ideal time to check out Chaparral Pines’ perfect year-round lifestyle amid the spectacular natural beauty of the Tonto National Forest. Within a 90-minute drive of metropolitan Phoenix and the resort area of Scottsdale, Chaparral Pines has become a popular primary residence and family retreat. The club provides an abundance of recreational activities for all members, including swimming, tennis and a state-of-the-art fitness center. From fun social gatherings and family barbecues at The Trailhead to a romantic dinner at the clubhouse, Chaparral Pines has something for everyone.

Chaparral Pines will host a home tour of extraordinary values Sept. 27. Please call (800) 311-5370 for more information or to preview the homes prior to the home tour. Homes range from the low $400s to more than $1 million. 

New Tampa, Fla. – Arthur Rutenberg Homes, one of five builders in Grand Hampton, is offering exceptional savings on new construction homes through Sept. 20. Prices vary based on the floor plan, but buyers can take advantage of the Summer Sale savings on the Bonaire, Tradewinds, Mirasol, Calais and Capri featured designs. Act now before the discount ends!

Grand Hampton, a gated club community close to downtown Tampa, its international airport, and shops and services, enjoys a one-of-a-kind lifestyle. Resident events and a wide variety of homes make this one of LandMar’s most dynamic communities. To request more information about Arthur Rutenberg Homes or to learn more about Grand Hampton, click here.

Lake James, N.C. – Join us Oct. 11 & 12 for an exciting weekend at Lake James, as we take advantage of cool days and the brilliant autumn colors of the Blue Ridge Mountains for our discovery weekend. We’ll have completed homes open for touring, builders available to answer all your questions and plenty of home plans to help you start dreaming about your retreat on Lake James. And, you can view our new homesites in Rafter's Roost at Old Wildlife Club.

On Saturday, we’re planning an evening of campfire fun at Camp Lake James that you surely don’t want to miss. We’ll enjoy s’mores, live music and other activities while watching the sun set at the lake. Be sure to mark your calendar to join us. Click here for a full list of the weekend’s events.

Charlotte, N.C. – Running Oct. 24-26, the Tax-Free Home Tour will showcase completed homes in eight Charlotte-area communities, from Lake Norman to Lake Wylie to Fort Mill. Buyers who purchase one of the featured homes during this weekend will enjoy property taxes deducted from the selling price. Tour-goers will have the opportunity to speak with builders and tour open homes during the weekend. Homes will be open in Chapel Cove, Falls Cove, The Farms, The Peninsula, The Point, SailView, Springfield and the Sanctuary. More details will be available in next month's e-News.

Four of the communities on tour are among the five top-selling communities in the Charlotte area. Springfield, The Point, the Sanctuary and The Farms recorded more than $95 million in sales contracts during the past 12 months. These four Crescent communities accounted for more than 32 percent of the market share for dollar volume of the 34 Charlotte communities with sales prices averaging more than $500,000.

Raleigh, N.C. – Parade of Homes begins this month, so make plans now to visit Hidden Lake! We are unveiling a new waterfront home built by Ange Signature Homes that is sure to elicit "oohs" and "aahs." Tour this home, along with other completed homes, during the weekends of Sept. 20 through Oct. 19 from noon to 5 p.m.

A fall visit to Hidden Lake is a special treat because of the abundance of trees in full color surrounding the lake and spacious homesites. Enjoy all that Hidden Lake has to offer by relaxing on the veranda of the waterfront Lake House and taking a canoe around the lake.

Charlotte, N.C. – Construction is coming to an end on Charlotte magazine's 2008 Dream Home at Chapel Cove. Attention will soon shift to interior design, led by Vicki Payne and Sloan Payne-Rutter of the popular PBS show, For Your Home. This year's Dream Home will embody a "Creativity & Activity" theme. The show home will be open Nov. 20 through Dec. 14 and benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Charlotte Affiliate.

Visit www.chapelcove-crescent.com or call (877) 314-1110 for more information.

Fort Myers, Fla. – A rare short-tailed female hawk has chosen River Hall as a nesting site. Previously tagged with a solar-powered transmitter in the Everglades by the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI), the female hawk migrated to River Hall in March to the delight of residents. In June, the tagged hawk successfully hatched chicks, which the ARCI deemed the “River Hall chicks” as an exciting new addition to the community.

River Hall features a Davis Love III golf course in the river country of Lee County, close to I-75 and the Southwest Florida International Airport. To learn more about Express Address Homes and homesites now selling, call (866) 379-3999 or click here.

Payson, Ariz. – The Rim Golf Club recently partnered with The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale to host a golf tournament charity event in support of the organization. Contributors played The Rim Golf Club’s award-winning course, which has been rated the No. 1 residential golf course in the Southwest for three years in a row in Golfweek magazine’s list of “America’s Best Residential Golf Courses” and No. 1 in Arizona. The Rim Golf Club’s par-71 championship course is the highlight of the community and the collaboration of the legendary design team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish.

The Rim Golf Club is offering special incentives on developer homesite and membership packages. Visit www.therimgolfclub.com or call (800) 311-5370 for more details.

St. Marys, Ga. – LandMar teamed up with Sanctuary on the Sapelo Wildlife Rehabilitation to release an injured bird in the marsh-front community of Osprey Cove. Residents watched in wonder as a rehabilitated osprey took flight from an Island Estates deep-water homesite. Osprey Cove’s proximity to saltwater marshes and freshwater streams provided a variety of habitats for this special bird. Since the community already has a nesting platform and at least two known nests, one with several babies, the chances of the osprey sticking around are good. It was a successful release, and many residents enjoyed the excitement.

Long known as one of the premier coastal golf communities in southeast Georgia, Osprey Cove has attracted nature lovers and those who enjoy outdoor pursuits. With its miles of walking paths, a River Club with deep-water boat launch and a Mark McCumber championship golf course, Osprey Cove has become the perfect place to call home. To read more about the rehabilitated osprey, click here.

Duluth, Ga. – Following a host of upgrades to the grand Southern-style Clubhouse and Family Sports Center this summer, TPC Sugarloaf is looking better than ever. And, Sugarloaf Country Club residents and their guests are playing more rounds of golf as a result. Club memberships are expected to rise through the rest of this year. One of the best places to watch action on the 27-hole, Greg Norman-designed course is from the terrace of a new home. More than half of available new homes overlook the golf course.

Visit www.sugarloafcc.com or call (888) 590-8884 for more information.

Okatie, S.C. – If you thought you had to travel to distant and exotic locations to battle with the mighty tarpon fish, never fear as one of the most coveted saltwater game fish is just a short boat ride from Oldfield's docks! August and September offer the best fishing opportunities for the "silver king" in the Lowcountry. The tarpons that migrate to the local waters average between 80 and 120 pounds, and when targeted with 20-pound class tackle, these game fish provide one of the ultimate challenges in saltwater angling.

To read more about the "big one, " click here.

Orlando, Fla. – Central Florida, with its extensive bike routes and scenic Rails-to-Trails paths that run throughout the area, is one of the best places in the state for getting out and enjoying nature. In Lake County alone, miles of paved and unpaved trails await exploration with plans to add several key connectors and extenders during the coming years, including a new trailhead within Sugarloaf Mountain.

“We are excited to be part of the expanding Central Florida trails system,” said Al Penny, project manager for Sugarloaf Mountain. “Time and time again, people say that hiking and biking trails are the most important amenity a community can offer. We took this sentiment seriously.”

Fall is one of the best times of year to experience all this area has to offer, so contact Sugarloaf Mountain today to find out how you can experience life on the mountaintop for yourself. To read more about the expanding trails system in Central Florida, click here.

St. Marys, Ga. – Lowcountry living on the banks of Georgia’s most pristine marshes has never been more enjoyable. Carefully situated along the Crooked River, residents in Winding River’s Marsh Landing Estates neighborhood offers an extraordinary environment unique to this area. Many have constructed homes to take advantage of the optimal views associated with waterfront living. The Gilbert family is no exception. They recently completed their beautiful, three-level, Lowcountry, cottage-style home and are loving the Winding River lifestyle. “We love hanging out at The Savannah Club, but it’s the ability to do so much right around our home that really makes the difference,” Brian Gilbert said.

Only a handful of marsh-front estates remain, so act now to be a part of LandMar’s exclusive waterfront neighborhood. For information on Winding River, click here.

Lake Keowee, S.C. – Every season is a reason to be at Lake Keowee, but fall is purely magical. The surrounding hardwoods are ready to paint the horizon with their autumn hues, and the emerald green waters of Lake Keowee simply complement the change. It's a splendid place to spend long weekends or more, as the surrounding small towns gear up for fall festivals and college football at nearby Clemson University. A variety of homesites is available to pick your favorite location and start planning your retreat.

Visit www.keoweeliving.com for more information.

Charlotte, N.C. – Crescent residents and employees are joining forces for the second year to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure as part of Community Connection. The race will be Oct. 4 in uptown Charlotte's Gateway Village. Team Crescent Communities' goal is to raise $5,000, and supporters have several options to participate, including "Massage for the Cure" and "Sleeping in for the Cure."

Visit www.komencharlotte.org for more details.