Mahoning Valley Dream House

If ever there was a dream house in the Mahoning Valley that held the best of everything, this is it.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH LIMA -- Picture a beautiful waterfront condominium, complete with all the amenities you'd expect to see in the homes of the rich.
Porcelain tile floors, textured walls painted by a commissioned artist, a heated driveway, crystal lighting throughout -- every detail imaginable, custom designed by the owners themselves.
Now picture this lavish, million-dollar condo amid a rural, picturesque backdrop.
Does North Lima come to mind?
This is the dream home of Joe and Nanette Soltesiz, and after two years of meticulous planning, it's become reality for the couple, who plan to use it as a weekend and summer getaway.
The 4,500-square-foot condo in Pine Lake Reserve is one of five homes owned by the couple, with their primary residence on Southwoods Avenue in Boardman.
Of all their homes, Joe calls the condo his "Picasso" and explained it's a "sleeper" from the outside.
"When you pull up and look at it, you would never dream that the inside has all of the things that it does," he said.
The couple have not yet slept at the condo, but did celebrate the holidays there with family. Nanette said they also had a great Super Bowl party and explained that guests didn't miss a minute of the game because of TVs in nearly every room.
Nanette said family was a huge consideration when ideas were being tossed around for the layout of the home. She comes from a family of 17 brothers and sisters and said it's important to have a place where her four children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild can get together.
And family was also the reason for North Lima -- considering they could have built anywhere. They considered building near the Seven Springs resort southeast of Pittsburgh and near Geneva, Ohio.
"But that's too far away," she said, explaining the condo is seven miles from their Boardman home. "I think when you get older, you don't want to travel too far."
Nanette called the condo her "dream home" and said she's never homesick there because her family is always nearby.
For Joe, the condo is a smaller version of the famous Biltmore Estate, set on a mountainside in Asheville, N.C., and considered to be the largest home in the U.S.
"We didn't have buckets of money to do that, so we scaled it down and made it more affordable," he added.
But there were bucks to do a lot of special things.
What's inside
The two-floor condo has an elevator, two decks, state-of-the-art home theater and a porcelain tile floor in the three-car garage. There are 18 rooms, including three bedrooms, five bathrooms, two laundry rooms and two kitchens.
Joe said he decided to go with porcelain in the garage because it's durable and not much more expensive than ceramic.
And the heated driveway?
"The neatest thing since popsicles ..." said Joe. During heavy snow, it takes about four hours for snow to melt away.
The heated garage houses a never-used 2007 Mercedes XLS and an electric car that plugs in the wall and allows for easy maneuvering around the development grounds.
The main family room on the first floor has a kitchen, laundry room, roulette wheel, pool table and separate theater that seats eight in leather recliners. An old-fashioned popcorn machine sits in the corner and a small stage at the front has remote-control curtains that open to reveal a 7-foot-wide screen.
Joe explained that pistons in the seat of the recliners are set to vibrate when there is an explosion on the screen.
"You can actually feel it when there is an explosion," he said.
The condo is completely handicap accessible in case Joe or Nanette need to use a wheelchair in the future.
That's also one of the reasons they decided to install a large marble and tile walk-in shower on the second floor instead of a Jacuzzi tub, Joe said.
The shower has seven shower heads that can be adjusted individually for temperature and pressure.
"They feel great," Joe said. "I've only showered in there once, but water flows from every direction, and it's like a great massage."
Furniture was bought locally and in Florida and the Carolinas. There is an "Arnold Palmer" bedroom, outfitted with furniture from the golfer's store. Another bedroom, "The Tommy Bahama Room," is filled with furniture from Tommy Bahama.
For Nanette, her favorite rooms are the kitchens. Two drawers in one of the kitchens match the other drawers and cupboards from the outside, but when opened, reveal two small dishwashers.
Other amenities include: Walk-in closets; tinted solar glass throughout the home, which helps with heating and cooling bills and keeps furniture from fading; hand-painted ceramic sinks from Italy; TVs that seem to pop up, virtually out of nowhere with the touch of a button; and blinds that open and close with a remote control.
Development
Their condo sits in the 90 million Pine Lake Reserve development of 108 acres off Market Street, seven miles south of the Southern Park Mall. Construction began in 2003 on Phase 1 of the project, which will include 335 units once all four phases are complete. Pine Lake Reserve is being developed by Evergreen Land Development.
Jaime Garayua, Evergreen's general manager, said the condo, which won an award of excellence from the Home Builders Association, was not the work of an interior designer, but of Joe and Nanette.
"He knows what he wants and gets his ideas from traveling around the world," Garayua said of Joe. "He has done everything five star."
Barb Hanna, Evergreen's project coordinator, suggested for the home a 5,000 toilet/bidet for a second-floor bathroom.
The lid opens automatically when you stand in front of it, then closes when you're done. Billed as odorless, the heated toilet/bidet includes a control panel on the wall that allows for various user options -- including remote lifting of the seat.
"When she found it I said, 'Barbara, you've got to be crazy,'" Joe said, explaining his wife would never go for it because she is the conservative one when it comes to money. "But I told her about it and she said 'Get it!'"
Joe's attention to detail can be seen by looking at various designs and themes that are incorporated in various areas of the home. The custom-made stove hood matches the design of the fireplace. One mile of rope molding runs throughout the condo.
Joe, 67, was born on the North Side of Youngstown, lived for a time on the South Side and moved with his parents to Boardman when he was 12. Nanette, 65, was born in Cleveland and came to the area with her family when she was 9.
Once married, they lived for a time on South Shore in Boardman, then built a home on Spring Lake in Canfield before moving to the Southwoods address. They also own a condo in Siesta Key, Fla., a home on Long Boat Key, Fla., and a smaller home in Boardman where out-of-town family stays when in the area.
All of their children work in the family business, J & amp;N Products, on McClurg Road, which supplies components to businesses that manufacture entry doors for residences. Joe also had a business in Liverpool, England, at one time but sold it.
He explained he never went to college "because I was too busy making money."
On April 12, Joe and Nanette will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
No one could ever say her husband doesn't know what he wants in life, Nanette said, adding that "it's that way with everything!"
Joe just laughed.
"If there's something I want, I get it. I don't wait for someone else to get it for me."