Community's newest model home opens this weekend

BELLEVUE -- Lakemont Heights is celebrating the unveiling of its newest model home this weekend. Built on the north side of Cougar Mountain, the boutique collection of 17 four- and five-bedroom homes is located in Bellevue's Lakemont neighborhood and features homesites that measure up to 10,000 square feet.

Lyndon Kestyus and his family purchased a home featuring the Jefferson floor plan at Lakemont Heights last month. The retired Boeing engineer says he is impressed by the home's construction and finishes.

"We could judge from the model home that the quality of the materials and the workmanship was top-notch," Kestyus says. "The home that we chose was framed at the time, so I had a chance to look at how the plumber plumbed everything, the attention to the blocking and the construction of the framework of the house."

Built by CamWest, a Toll Brothers Company, Lakemont Heights is located on a cul-de-sac in an established residential neighborhood bordered by a protected greenbelt. The community features two parks, and its professionally landscaped front yards are maintained by the homeowners' association.

New homeowners Mike and Katie Richardson moved to the neighborhood from Issaquah and say the Cougar Mountain setting, which offers Olympic Mountain and sunset views from some of the homes, initially drew them to the neighborhood.

"We really like the western-exposure setting -- it's very light and bright," Katie Richardson says.

The Richardsons moved into their home in June after utilizing the builder's CamYes! program to customize the design beyond the traditional color selections.

"When we purchased the home, it was in the foundation stage and a floor plan had already been selected for the homesite, so they accommodated some pretty significant changes. We moved the kitchen and the second-floor master suite from one side of the home to the other," says Mike Richardson. "All of the people we've worked with have been very responsive. They have been very helpful and attentive to our needs."

Kestyus says his family is planning to move in this fall, and he is customizing his home with his choice of carpeting, cabinets and lighting packages.

Homebuyers can choose from six home designs with three- or four-car garages. Four of the homes are under construction and five are being sold presale. Depending on the plan, homes may include first-floor guest suites, open bonus rooms, workshop space in garages, two-sided fireplaces separating great rooms and living rooms, and wrap-around front porches.

Lakemont Heights is located near Interstate 90, Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, Lewis Creek Park and the Golf Club at Newcastle. Lake Sammamish is less than five miles away, and a trail runs along the eastern edge of the community that connects to the city of Bellevue's trail system.

Toll Brothers is among the nation's leading builders of luxury homes. Its recent purchase of CamWest Development, LLC -- which has been building homes locally for more than 20 years -- expands the company's reach to the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1967, Toll Brothers is now building homes in 20 states.

Toll Brothers was rated No. 1 in 2011 and 2010 for Financial Soundness, Long-Term Investment and Quality of Products/Services in the homebuilding category of Fortune magazine's annual World's Most Admired Companies survey.

Content provided by Lakemont Heights