ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — On Thursday, HGTV will pick the winner of its 2024 Dream Home in Anastasia Island. But when the winner is picked, they might be in for a rude awakening.
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The home still needs to be fully approved by St. Augustine leaders.
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Some hoping for the ‘dream home’ say the situation seems more like a nightmare.
“You’d think they’d have everything in order before building something like that,” says Rebecca Rexrode, who entered 45 times for the chance to win the home.
It doesn’t sound too dreamy, either, to Beth Uhl, who’s tried for the HGTV Dream Home each year for at least the last decade.
“So you get a home, but you get a home with problems,” Uhl said.
Drawings for the house were approved by the city last year, but now the city’s planning and zoning board is asking how that ever happened.
Action News Jax told you earlier this month when the board met to review the house. The developer was asking for approval for the seawall surrounding the home after it had already been built. During the meeting, the board found the home is 80 feet wide, which violates the city’s 75-foot limit for development by a conservation zone.
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Board members brought up two parts of the development, apart from the seawall, specifically causing concern. The construction plans say the pool area and seawall were drawn up ‘by others,’ but the city doesn’t know exactly who put the plans together.
The company behind the home says more than 100 million people entered the HGTV sweepstakes for the Dream Home, which promises the home, a new E-class from Mercedes Benz, and $100,000 cash to the winner.
The city’s planning and zoning board is expected to review the home again during its meeting next Tuesday, March 5. Action News Jax reached out to the board, the builder of the home, and the attorney representing them for comment and more information. None were available to speak with us today since the home is still under review.
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HGTV says if the winner of the Dream Home doesn’t want it, there’s a $650,000 cash option, instead. The name of the Dream Home winner will be put on HGTV’s website on May 15.
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