The pool and clubhouse at Veranda Apartment Homes
From the treetop vista looking out to the cozy, inviting view looking in, apartment living at Veranda is a welcome departure from the usual rental options. The quiet Mount Dora community, nestled atop a peaceful hill and surrounded by a well-manicured landscape, effuses a charming, home-sweet-home feel for its residents.
“Inside the apartment or on the patio looking out, this feels more like a home than an apartment,” says Vice President of Property Management Tiffany Blunn at Rath/Harper and Associates, which built and manages the community. “The views here create that quaint, home feeling.”
The warm, personalized ambiance was by design over the years. The company’s founder, Fred Rath Sr., focused on top-notch amenities when they built the apartments, creating a customized home for each resident to enjoy.
“Instead of the usual apartment décor, we use upgraded interiors that are typically found in a custom home,” explains Fred Sr. “Our apartments feature nine-foot ceilings, wide crown molding, a Roman tub and sit-down vanity in the master bath, spacious closets, and a glass-top stove with a self-cleaning oven.”
The 208-unit community offers three available layouts: a one-bedroom, a one-bedroom with a den, and a two-bedroom, two-bath. No detail was overlooked by the Rath team, but it is the liberal use of color that makes Veranda unique. Residents have a choice of three color palettes within the apartments—beige, taupe, or gray—which is reflected in the tinted walls, cabinets, paddle fans, light fixtures, deep pile carpeting, and ceramic tile.
Veranda Apartment Homes, built in 2006, boasts state-of-the-art amenities for residents and their guests to use. The athletically inclined can enjoy a dip in the swimming pool or train in the spacious gym, while a large social room with a TV area is an ideal meeting place for card-playing and conversation.
For residents who want to shop or dine out, Veranda Apartment Homes is conveniently located on SR 46, just east of Hwy 441, mere minutes from downtown Mount Dora and just a short drive from the Altamonte Mall in Altamonte Springs as well as Interstate 4.
Fostering camaraderie among residents and a neighborhood atmosphere was a priority for Tiffany and remains an important task for her and her staff. They meet regularly to schedule fun activities for Veranda’s residents.
“We host a variety of activities such as a monthly continental breakfast, birthday celebration, bingo, and more,” Tiffany says.
Whether it’s Italian dinner one month or Southern chicken dishes the next, there’s always a gathering for residents to mark on their calendars. Veranda even sponsors a weekly Scrabble event at Mount Dora’s public library. Tiffany says the activities are her team’s way of thanking residents for calling Veranda home.
“We have a large turnout for the events that we host, which tells me the residents enjoy what we are doing. Our sit-down Thanksgiving dinner and our Winter Wonderland party are the residents’ favorites.
“We take a different approach at Veranda,” she adds. “We offer a high-end product at an affordable price. We feel confident that ‘anywhere else is so ho-hum.’”
