Family affair - couple waits more than a decade for dream home
Bill and Margie Cronin tried to buy the small ranch home across the street since they first moved into their sprawling five bedroom Mediterranean home more than a decade ago. While they loved the house, that they gutted down to the cinderblocks and totally remodeled, it was the property across the cul-de-sac in Cape Coral that they coveted. Their home is on a canal, but the nearby house had water on two sides. From that double waterfront property they could see their son’s house across one canal and their daughter’s home across the other. A third daughter lives nearby.
It’s not a coincidence that they all live so close. The family was living in Colorado when they decided to move somewhere warmer.
“My son said ‘we want to hang out with you because you are our best friends,’” Bill related. “Our family, that’s who we hang out with.”
They searched an area stretching from Sarasota to Naples before choosing canal front homes in south Cape Coral. Although they thought they had their dream house, Bill and Margie realized the canals were better across the street.
“When we settled in here and got to know them (neighbors) I said ‘if you ever plan to sell the house let me know and I will buy it,’” Bill explained.
The owners of the 1970s ranch house were from Germany and only spent about four weeks a year there, but didn’t want to sell. Finally in 2020, the house was for sale and the Cronin’s bought it and had it demolished to make room for their new masterpiece.
The new house is all about family. The Cronin’s wanted to stay in that Cape Coral community because all their children and grandchildren are nearby. They wanted a house that would be great for grandkid sleepovers, family gatherings and lots of little ones running around and playing. The couple has three children and four grandchildren. Two more grandkids will be born this summer and fall. To have room for this big, nearby family to visit, the couple is building a house that will have four bedrooms and five full and one half bathrooms. The two dens and the fitness room could also be converted into bedrooms. The house will span 6,100 square feet under air and a total of 10,500 square feet of space. That’s bigger than originally planned. The original plan was for about 4,500 square feet, but when the couple thought of all the grandkids and of the value of the property, they decided to go bigger.
“You are paying a hefty sum for this lot, so you don’t want a small house,” said David Gydosh, president of Tundra Homes who built the new house and also did the renovations in the old home.
Since they live right across the street, the Cronin’s have watched the house being built since the beginning. Now they are about to finally move in.
“We’re excited,” Margie exclaimed.
There are so many things she is excited about. There are so many things she lists as her favorite.
“We will wake up to this view,” she said as she stood in the master bedroom and pointed out the sliding glass doors to the water.
Then she walked into the great room with sliders that lead to the lanai.
“This is my favorite room because we like entertaining,” she decided.
Bill likes his den that has sliders that lead to a side pathway along the canal.
“This is what I wanted,” he said. “I wanted an office where I could walk right outside.”
Margie wanted something completely different, so her office has windows overlooking the front of the house.
“I can see the street and the front door,” she said. “I can see who is coming and going.”
The second floor was designed for kids. There are two bedrooms up there with sliders that overlook the canal. The loft will have a custom made shuffle board table. There’s also an entertainment room where the Cronin’s envision their grandkids enjoying Disney movies while the adults chat downstairs. Sliders in that room lead to a wide terrace overlooking the pool and the canal. A spiral staircase leads back down to the lanai.
“While the grandchildren are young we will have locks and alarms on all the doors,” Bill stated.
The dock has a middle section that lowers into the water. Margie said that will give easy access for the grandchildren to get close to the water to fish.
The house could be called the home of refrigerators. There are two in the kitchen, one in the bar area and another in the butler’s pantry. The house will have two dishwashers, though the Cronin’s might be hand washing dishes for a while since the ones they originally ordered were cancelled and a new order won’t be ready for a while.
The Cronin’s first moved to Cape Coral in 2009 when they purchased the Mediterranean house that was built in 2008. Even though it was only a year old, the couple wanted to recreate it in their own style. So they hired Gydosh to gut the place and do a complete renovation. They moved into that house in 2010. The five bedroom, three full and one half bathroom house that spans 4,100 under air, is in the typical Mediterranean style with lots of arches, dark mahogany wood and a stone style floor.
“That house was by far our favorite ever. Now this one will be,” Bill said.
The new house is white, has straight lines and is very modern in style.
“That’s what we planned,” Bill said. “It is so different. We wanted something totally different.”
“We can’t wait for it to be finished,” Margie added.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Family affair - couple waits more than a decade for dream home
