The backyard is the other living room.

Young laid this neighborhood out around water and shade, and a century later that is still the point. Houses on North Lake Drive and South Lake Drive look across open water; the streets east toward the Intracoastal end at seawalls and dockage with a run north to the Port Everglades inlet. Under mature banyans and royal palms, owners are building the outdoor half of the house: a covered terrace off the rear, a summer kitchen that works in August, a pergola over the pool deck, and a driveway and entry that finally match the front elevation.

Exterior work triggers the most review in Hollywood Lakes. Structures need building permits from the City of Hollywood Building Division, gas, water and electrical runs need their own trade permits, and on a designated property in a historic district the Historic Preservation Board reviews visible changes through a Certificate of Appropriateness. Seawall and dock work runs through the city plus Broward County's Aquatic and Wetland Resources Program, which licenses work in, on or under surface waters, including docks, seawalls, dredge and fill and mangrove trimming. Hollywood has also adopted minimum seawall and tidal barrier elevations in step with Broward County's countywide standard.

Exterior work gets interior standards here, because the weather does not grade on a curve. Pergola footings are engineered rather than estimated, terraces are pitched to move water away from the house instead of toward the slab, and anything within reach of salt air gets marine-grade metal, sealed dense stone and hardware chosen for the exposure. Projects run on a fixed written scope with daily supervision and a site that gets cleaned every afternoon. Licensed and insured, Lic. CGC1539072, with more than 20 years of South Florida construction behind the estimate.