BUILDER: Park & Eleazer
TECHNOLOGY: Haven Smart (formerly HD2020)
Shannon and Bruce Lucas’s modern, four-story waterfront home is one of epic proportions. The spacious, 9,600-square-foot South Tampa house was made to host the ultimate parties.
The foyer flaunts a dramatic 30-foot ceiling, with other spaces reaching 15 to 18 feet tall. The giant living room couch easily seats 20 people, and the lengthy kitchen and dining tables can easily accommodate 28 guests total. Out back, a coveted 165 feet of water frontage can be soaked up from the remarkable 50-foot-by-25-foot pool, oversized hot tub and private dock. Even the front door is a marvel at 10 feet by 8 feet, setting the mood with a grand entry.
“We definitely achieved our dream home,” Shannon says. “We love putting on dinner parties and holiday gatherings here for our family and friends, as well as charity events for the community.”
The Lucases purchased the half-acre lot in 2016, hiring Park & Eleazer to construct their five-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence. The house itself is made of post-tensioned, solid, poured concrete; normally used for commercial projects, it allows for oversized open spaces without support columns. The power couple, who recently launched the tech startup Slide, moved in last summer after three and a half years of construction. A few finishing touches outside are in the works.
Of course, entertaining calls for an epic kitchen. Theirs boasts a 7-foot-long galley sink that doubles as a drink cooler, three refrigerators, an induction cooktop, two wine cellars and a butler’s pantry with Thermador appliances. With two more custom wine cellars in the dining room, they can chill 750 bottles.
Beyond having plenty of room to entertain, another priority was capturing the waterfront view. The living area has glass panels from floor to ceiling. Each bedroom is Bay facing with a balcony, and natural light is emphasized in every room, down to the closets and home gym. The master bedroom juts into the backyard, appearing as if it’s suspended over the pool.
“The view is everything,” Bruce says. “Looking out onto the water is pure paradise.”
Shannon was particularly involved in designing the home. She has a knack for interior design, having recently completed their vacation house in Turks and Caicos. For both homes, she did most of the layout design and selected the fixtures and finishes. She also chose the color scheme: Tampa’s is cool tones with gray, white, blue and silver accents.
A modern style accentuates their minimalist taste with touches of warmth and coziness. Notable materials include honed stacked stone, Italian plaster panels for several accent walls and Spanish floor tiles. The floating wooden staircase by the entryway adds to the clean look. The Lucases commissioned artists from around the world to create colorful, abstract paintings that pop on the large walls. Shannon had designs powder coated silver and displayed in geometric repeating patterns on a few walls.
Another impressive element of the home may not be visible to the naked eye, but it is key to its functionality: technology. The Lucases hired Haven Smart (formerly HD2020).
“It was one of our bigger jobs,” says Don Dunn, Haven Smart’s vice president of technology. “We used the latest state-of-the-art technology to blend multiple systems into one single control system.”
From a smartphone app, the Lucases can access whole home automation to check security cameras and adjust lighting, sound, shades, sprinklers, air conditioning and pool settings. Other features include video intercoms, adjustable colored elevator illumination and a bedroom TV projector with a 120-inch drop-down screen. For their work on the home, Smart Haven won third place in 2021 for Best Whole-House/Smart Home Project Over $150k from CE Pro, a national trade publication.
The top floors are all about the Lucases’ daughters, Ava and Emma. (Their son, Alec, moved away to college.) The bright, fun family lounge space is Shannon and Bruce’s favorite room for relaxing together, with a deep, comfy couch and large TV. From playtime to parties, there’s a space for everything in the Lucases’ massive modern masterpiece.
Check out other Tampa waterfront homes featured in this issue: Art Collectors’ Paradise and Home Design: Urban Edge
