Southern Pool Designs designs and builds new custom pools and full rip-and-replace rebuilds inside Keene’s Pointe, the guard-gated Windermere community built around the Golden Bear Club and the Butler Chain of Lakes. Projects here typically land in our Signature tier ($175,000 to $325,000) or Monument tier ($325,000 to $1,000,000+), and replacing an existing pool adds $8,000 to $20,000 for demolition.
Keene’s Pointe: Windermere Address, Orange County Permit
Keene’s Pointe carries a Windermere mailing address, but it sits outside the Town of Windermere’s limits in unincorporated Orange County (the Census Bureau places it in the Lake Butler census-designated place). That means your pool permit comes from Orange County, not the town. It is a 24-hour guard-gated community of more than 1,000 homes governed by a homeowners association. We confirm the association’s requirements for exterior work at the start and prepare that submittal and the county permit from the same 3D design and engineering, so the two match.
The gate also shapes logistics. Excavators, concrete trucks, shotcrete rigs and stone deliveries all pass through a staffed entrance and travel interior streets, so we schedule heavy deliveries in advance and plan staging so the street stays clear for neighbors.
The Golden Bear Club
The community’s private course is a Jack Nicklaus Signature design that opened in 1999, playing 7,173 yards to a par of 72. Water is part of the routing: the tee shot on the ninth plays over water on the right, and the 18th green is guarded by water on the left, with the clubhouse overlooking the lake. Membership is optional for homeowners and billed separately from the HOA.
Three lot types, three design briefs
- Butler Chain lakefront. Keene’s Pointe borders Lake Tibet-Butler, part of the Butler Chain, and some lakefront homes have private docks. Here the job is to frame the water from inside the house. Orange County measures pool and deck setbacks from the lake’s Normal High Water Elevation, and the distance depends on zoning, so that line goes on the survey first.
- Golf course lots. Fairway-facing homes want the view without giving up privacy. Pool placement, raised walls, planting and lighting all get set with the course in mind.
- Interior and conservation lots. Without a lake or fairway, the pool becomes the main view, which suits a stronger architectural statement such as a perimeter overflow pool or a spa set on axis with the living room.
Resort features need their own engineering
Many Keene’s Pointe estates were built for entertaining, and resort-style pools with slides, waterfalls, diving rocks and swim-up seating are common here. Orange County asks for site-specific engineering on exactly those elements: water features, slides, grottos, rock formations, bridges and lazy rivers. A disappearing edge needs engineering from the pool wall down to and including the collection basin, and where excavation sits close to a slope or structure, the county can ask for angle of repose engineering. We coordinate that engineering in-house so it is complete at submittal instead of coming back as review comments.
Design Ideas for Keene’s Pointe Homes
Homes here lean Mediterranean and transitional, on lots that have matured since construction began in the late 1990s. Ideas that suit them:
- A vanishing edge toward the lake or a fairway pond, with the catch basin hidden in the grade. Our infinity edge pools page covers the engineering.
- A lagoon layout with a grotto, beach entry and rock waterfall for families who want the resort feel. See our lagoon pool work.
- A modern rebuild of a 2000s freeform pool into clean lines with large-format coping and a raised spa.
- Fire features and layered LED lighting tuned to read across the water at night.
- Smart automation so heat, lighting and water features run from your phone.
What a Keene’s Pointe Pool Costs
- Foundation: $120,000 to $175,000
- Signature: $175,000 to $325,000, our most-built tier
- Monument: $325,000 to $1,000,000+
Keene’s Pointe projects typically land in our Signature and Monument tiers. What moves the number here: demolition of an original pool ($8,000 to $20,000), engineered water features and vanishing edges, retaining walls (Orange County requires a separate permit and engineering for walls that are not integral to the pool), and the outdoor kitchen, cabana and hardscape scope that often comes with an estate-level rebuild. Our pricing page breaks down each tier.
How a Keene’s Pointe Project Runs
1. Welcome call. We confirm your lot type, whether an existing pool comes out, and what your HOA requires for submittal.
2. On-site design consultation. We walk the property, study the view from the main rooms, locate the high water line or course boundary, and plan access through the gate and around the house.
3. The Signature Experience. A paid design phase delivers your 3D design and engineering. We submit to the HOA and Orange County, then build under a dedicated project manager with real-time tracking, ending with a final walkthrough. Building a new home here? We work alongside your builder; see how we collaborate with home builders.
Keene’s Pointe Pool Questions
Is Keene’s Pointe in the Town of Windermere?
No. Despite the Windermere address, Keene’s Pointe is in unincorporated Orange County, so Orange County reviews and inspects the pool. Any HOA approval runs separately. As a Florida Certified Pool Contractor (CPC1461548), we pull the county permit and prepare the HOA package from the same drawings.
Can we add a slide, grotto or waterfall?
Yes. These are features we design and build, but Orange County requires site-specific engineering for water features, slides, grottos and rock formations. We include that engineering in the design phase so your permit set is complete when it goes in.
How long does a Keene’s Pointe pool take?
It depends on scope, HOA review timing and engineering. A full rebuild with water features takes longer than a straightforward new pool. Our guide on how long a custom pool takes in Florida walks through each phase, and we give you a schedule once design is set.
Do you renovate older Keene’s Pointe pools?
We do full rip-and-replace rebuilds and new pools only, not resurfacing or repairs. Many pools here date from the late 1990s and 2000s, and a rebuild lets you change the shape, depth, spa, edge detail and equipment at once. Demolition adds $8,000 to $20,000.
Start Your Keene’s Pointe Pool Design
Call our Sanford design studio at (407) 339-5800 or request a design consultation to plan a pool for your Keene’s Pointe home. For the surrounding area, see our Windermere pool builder page.