Housing: An Old Master Builds Again

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The American dream of owning a home has been taking quite a beating lately, with the price of a new house averaging $100,100. But residents of Florida can dream again, thanks to William J. Levitt, 77. Known as the father of American suburbia for his Levittowns, the master builder constructed huge complexes of inexpensive housing after World War II on the edges of major American cities. Now Levitt is back with a grand new project—a $2 billion community that will go up on the outskirts of Orlando and be called Villa Poinciana. Its 26,000 homes will be priced from $39,900 to $59,900.

Levitt's secret, now as in the past, is the size of the developments. Says he: "We can offer homes at a fraction of the general market price. That's only possible when you have a large tract of land on which you can preplan, presell and run an assembly line, which is what we do."

Florida officials, though, are worried about the impact of Levitt's new town. They say that such a massive project would overwhelm water, sewer and other local services. But the master builder is undeterred. Says he: "Bear in mind that we're veterans in this business."