Heavy/HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams/YouTube HGTV Dream Home 2024
HGTV announced the 2024 edition of its annual Dream Home sweepstakes in November 2023, revealing that this year’s Dream Home was being built on Anastasia Island, in Florida. “Hands down, this is THE dreamiest home we’ve built yet. 😍 Take a look inside HGTV Dream Home 2024 after construction and before [designer Brian Patrick Flynn] fills it with cozy, seaside-inspired furniture and decor,🌴” the network wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
The network then opened up the sweepstakes for fans to enter on December 22, 2023. Fans can still enter to win the Dream Home grand prize package until February 15, 2024. Aside from the Dream Home itself, the winner will walk away with $100,000 cash and a brand new 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan, a total prize package of over $2.2 million.
Now, however, reports have come out that the Dream Home has not been completely signed off on by local leaders, and the fate of the home lies in the hands of the St. Augustine planning and zoning board.
Why Is the HGTV Dream Home Facing Approval Issues?
According to the local Action Jax News, while the Anastasia Island-based Dream Home is already completed with construction, there were some aspects of the home’s design that the planning and zoning board did not sign off on that is causing them to re-evaluate the entire home.
According to the outlet, the home is built directly next to a conservation zone, giving certain restrictions on the size of the home and certain elements. One such element is the seawall in the back of the home. According to local conservation and coastal management policies, “The City shall discourage the disturbance of natural shorelines to improve and continue the shoreline stabilization, protection, and habitat benefits natural shorelines provide…” and the city feels that the Dream Home’s seawall may classify as a disturbance of the natural shoreline.
Action Jax News went on to report that the company behind building the Dream Home, Coastal Getaway Homes, LLC, is arguing that the city had the information about their seawall when the home’s design was first approved. The city has still decided to take the entire home’s approval back into consideration, also arguing that the home is 80 feet wide, 5 feet more than the 75-foot limit near a conservation zone.
It is unclear what will happen if the city changes their previous approval on the property, however they are scheduled to reconvene to discuss the topic on March 5.
HGTV Returns to Florida for ‘Rock the Block’ Season 5
While the HGTV Dream Home sits on Florida’s east coast, the network recently traveled to the state’s west coast, as season 5 of the HGTV hit “Rock the Block” was filmed on Treasure Island, Florida.
“Rock the Block” season 5 premieres on March 4, and the Ty Pennington-hosted series is bringing back four pairs of past contestants, giving them a shot at redemption in the renovation competition series. Competing are season 3 teams Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas (“Bargain Block”) and Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis (“Unsellable Houses”) and season 4 teams Page Turner and Mitch Glew (“Fix My Flip”) and Sarah and Bryan Baeumler (“Renovation Island”).
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