Homes for multiple generations living together

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's a first for Jacksonville.  A home for "generation next" or what's also known as the "sandwich generation." Lennar Homes just finished construction on the first home in our area built specifically for families with multiple generations living under one roof.

Whether it's elderly parents, kids moving home after college or even an adult child moving in after a divorce, these floor plans provide a home within a home to solve the problem.

Barbara Moore is the Division President for Lennar and gave Channel 4's Nikki Kimbleton the grand tour. Moore said, "Our "next gen" suite connects to the home but in a private location and away from the noise of the main home. You have a private kitchen, living area and then the bedroom that's plenty large for a king or queen size bed, plus there's a walk in closet and private bath."

The homes average 3100 square feet with three or four bedroom options in the main home, plus the additional one bedroom and one bath in the suite. Each side has a connected garage.

"Our customers are telling us all kinds of uses they're finding for it." Moore said. "Home business, teenagers, guests who stay for long periods of time, kids who are coming home to live for awhile and the guys love it for a game room. It's the perfect place to watch football with their friends."

This is the first, completed generation next home from Lennar in our area. Others are under construction here but this floor plan is already a hit in other parts of the country. They've sold 400 so far.

"What we've seen with our multiple generation families, this is the most affordable combination they can have with two or three generations of families living in the home."

Homes range from the high $200's to the low $300's. Lennar is building the Next Generation homes in four different developments around our area including Oakleaf and Nocatee plus two areas in Duval County.