Good Vibrations

What are they looking for? Seventy-five percent want waterfront, 48 percent want to be on or near a golf course, and 28 percent want to be on or near ski slopes. And with two of the three in magnificent abundance in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties (it hasn’t snowed here since, well, forever), it’s a good time to take a look at our piece of paradise.

This area has been a magnet for people seeking the good life ever since land developer J. Hamilton Gillespie traveled here from Scotland in 1886 and built the nation’s first golf links near what is now the downtown Sarasota courthouse area.

In the booming early 1920s, colorful characters such as circus impresario John Ringling and socialite Bertha Honore Palmer (of Chicago’s famed Palmer Hotel family) transformed the little fishing and farming village of Sarasota into a resort destination. Starting in the 1940s and continuing for several decades, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist MacKinlay Kantor, John D. MacDonald of the best-selling Travis McGee mystery novels, sculptor John Chamberlain and other celebrated intellectuals established an artists’ colony here that formed the foundation of Sarasota’s flourishing arts community. Manatee and Charlotte counties, meanwhile, developed as tranquil destinations where retirees, most of them Midwesterners, could enjoy fishing, boating and other outdoor pursuits.?

Times have certainly changed in the 100 years since realtor A.B. Edwards showed properties to newcomers in his horse and buggy. Today, the region is welcoming a flood of new residents drawn here from all over the country and even abroad by the natural beauty of its beaches and public parks; a wealth of arts and cultural offerings, including our own opera, symphony and ballet companies and an internationally renowned botanical garden; and first-rate educational and medical facilities.

Why do newcomers flock to our tri-county area? Take a look at some of its most notable neighborhoods and you’ll see.

THE BEACHES

The warm, blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico enchant newcomers from the cold gray North, and many prospective homebuyers look first to waterfront properties on Sarasota’s barrier islands, which locals call the keys. Waterfront properties are the area’s priciest, but real estate pros remind us that, since the supply is finite, they hold their value well. Each of Sarasota’s island communities has its own personality.

For centuries, Longboat Key was a camping ground for native Indians; from the late 1880s to the great hurricane of 1921, it was an agricultural center producing avocados, papaya and tomatoes. Today Longboat Key is a 12-mile stretch of beach-to-bay resort living, from the multimillion-dollar condominiums of the gated Longboat Key Club on the south end to the wooden bungalows, ranch houses, vacation rentals and low-rise condos of the north end’s laid-back Village. Gulf of Mexico Drive, which runs up the island’s spine, is lined with hot-pink oleanders and banyan trees and bordered by a popular bike and jogging trail.

Realtors say Longboat Key attracts people who could live anywhere in the world, and many of the nation’s top retired executives call it their seasonal home. Several years ago, Money magazine singled out the community as one of America’s wealthiest zip codes, and real estate values bear that out. A modest home off the water in the Village now sells for well over $450,000 (if you can find one), and the most luxurious beachfront condos command several million (although smaller, older ones can be found starting at $850,000).

St. Armands is a lovely old neighborhood of eclectic architectural styles that revolves around the world-famous shopping destination of St. Armands Circle. Beautiful Lido Beach and the Circle’s terrific restaurants and upscale boutiques are just a short stroll or bike ride away. Platted in the 1920s by Sarasota’s most colorful developer, circus magnate John Ringling, St. Armands Circle retains a good bit of his razzle-dazzle. On almost any night of the week, tourists line up outside the ice cream shops, and Harley-hopping lawyers take over the corner coffeehouse. Lots of remodeling is taking place on the older canal-front homes that line the quiet, neighborly residential side streets.

You can walk to the lovely public beach on nearby Lido Key, where a wave of new beachfront condominiums has risen, among them Orchid Beach Club and The Beach Residences, adjacent to the ultra-ritzy new Ritz-Carlton Beach Club. Nearby Lido Shores was the site of last spring’s Symphony Designer Showhouse, a modernist mansion with huge panes of glass that’s on the market for $4.8 million; nearby, fashion designer-turned builder Adrienne Vittadini has her new, classically styled home on the market for $11 million.

Bird Key, a 510-home enclave just off the Ringling Causeway, has canal-front and bayfront homes with manicured front lawns and dramatic city skyline views. Also originally owned by John Ringling, the key was the Arvida Corporation’s first big Sarasota development in the early 1960s. Bird Key is a boater’s dream, and the Bird Key Yacht Club is the hub of social life here. A mix of executives, physicians, recently retired baby boomers, at least one rock ’n’ roll superstar and a controversial national talk-show host live here, but we’re not naming? any names.

Home to a popular public beach that has won a “world’s whitest sand” contest, Siesta Key is the most family-oriented of the area’s barrier islands. Residential options range from multimillion-dollar waterfront mansions hidden behind private walls to mid-century modern houses to the older mid-rise condominiums on the island’s south end. The heart of the key is the surfer-dude-cool Village, with its outdoor eateries, funky shops and ice cream stands. Some people swear the perfect date is a sunset beach walk followed by a daiquiri at a Village watering hole.

Tucked behind sea grapes and bougainvillea, unpretentious family compounds for the rich and private once predominated on Casey Key, a quiet residential enclave on nine lush Gulf-to-bay miles. Today many of them are being razed, and monumental residences are replacing them: two 20,000-plus-square-foot homes were recently completed. Last winter, a six-acre Gulf-to-bay compound was listed at $23 million. Who’s buying? “People from the Northeast and Midwest who looked at Naples and decided this was a better buy,” says Tom Stone of Michael Saunders & Company, himself a former Casey Key resident.

To the south, 7.5-mile Manasota Key straddles Sarasota and Charlotte counties between Lemon Bay and the Gulf. Narrow Manasota Key Road, with its dense tree canopy, seems like a road into Florida’s past. Midway down the island is a jumble of historic wooden cottages now known as The Hermitage Artist Retreat. The nonprofit organization, founded by the Sarasota County Arts Council, brings artists, musicians and writers to its unspoiled beachfront campus to draw creative inspiration from the setting.?

SARASOTA

Meandering along Sarasota Bay, the city of Sarasota, population 53,000, is the seat of county government, arts and culture. Its history is inextricably intertwined with John Ringling, who made Sarasota the winter headquarters of his famed Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and who built his over-the-top Italianate palazzo, C?d’Zan, on the Sarasota bayfront. Ringling also built the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art to house his priceless collection of Baroque art and willed it to the state of Florida. Today, the museum complex, owned by Florida State University, is Sarasota’s biggest tourist attraction. It recently celebrated the completion of an unprecedented $76 million renovation and expansion, making it one of the largest public art museums in the nation.

Two of the area’s oldest established bayfront neighborhoods, Indian Beach and Sapphire Shores, comprise the popular museum area, so named for its proximity to the Ringling Museum. A thriving cultural district, the area also claims the FSU Center for the Performing Arts (home of the Asolo Repertory Theatre and Sarasota Ballet), New College of Florida and a branch of the University of South Florida. Tree-lined Bay Shore Road travels the length of these historic north Sarasota neighborhoods, which are filled with a mix of meticulously renovated estates and modest Craftsman-era bungalows from the turn of the last century.

Homes along Sarasota Bay in the museum area command the highest prices, of course, and some of them are Sarasota’s most expensive (one recently sold for $12 million); but even the smallest non-waterfront houses in this desirable area start in the $200,000s. The newest additions to the residential mix are 23 modern pavilion-type homes that “will pay homage to the Sarasota School of Architecture [a mid-century modernist movement that won international attention],” says architect Guy Peterson, a developer of The Houses of Indian Beach, now under construction.

From the ribbon of 1970s-era mid-rises that ring Gulfstream Avenue to the swanky new Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, downtown’s condominium choices are soaring. An explosion of high-end condominium construction over the past few years is yielding several new complexes, Rivo at Ringling, Alinari at Rosemary Place, 1350 Main and Broadway Promenade among them. On Golden Gate Point, the tiny spit of land near Bayfront Park, luxury high-rises like Grand Riviera and Le Reve Dore are pushing out the laid-back 1950s and ’60s-era two-story apartment buildings.

Downtown condo prices continue to climb, too; the average sale price in 2006 was $831,700, with the highest topping out at $4.8 million, according to Candy Swick of Candy Swick & Company. “Downtown condos appeal to people who are coming off the barrier islands, are not interested in golf course communities and don’t want to go east of town,” says Cheryl Loeffler, of SKY Sotheby’s Realty. “Young professionals also enjoy the vibrancy of downtown.”

For those who desire downtown ambiance but like to keep both feet on the ground, downtown’s single-family neighborhoods are appealing alternatives. Young professional families and empty nesters have freshened up Laurel Park’s Craftsman bungalows and Mediterranean Revival cottages. Devonshire Park, with 26 New Urbanist homes to be constructed starting just under $1 million, is the neighborhood’s newest development. Nearby Towles Court is a thriving artists’ colony where brightly painted, Florida Cracker-style cottages house galleries and coffeehouses. A monthly gallery walk attracts hundreds of browsers. Urban frontiersmen are also turning to up-and-coming Gillespie Park, north of Fruitville Road, where old bungalows around a 10-acre park are being rehabbed and sold to young professionals. Citrus Square, a mixed-use development of condos and retail to be built on Orange Avenue between Fourth Street and Boulevard of the Arts, was recently announced; prices start in the mid-$200,000s.

OSPREY AND NOKOMIS
The once sleepy, unincorporated communities of Osprey and Nokomis, located between Sarasota and Venice, are awakening to tremendous residential and commercial growth.

Almost 100 years ago, Osprey was the winter home of Chicago socialite Bertha Palmer, wife of hotel magnate Potter Palmer. She came to Sarasota County in 1910 and snapped up tens of thousands of acres of wilderness, intent on utilizing it for cattle ranching, citrus groves and real estate development. Her bayfront estate, Osprey Point, is now being managed as Historic Spanish Point by the Gulf Coast Heritage Association. Here, the public can tour Mrs. Palmer’s water garden, sunken garden, Duchene lawn and fern and jungle walk.?

Nearby Oscar Scherer State Park, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, offers 15 miles of nature trails, campgrounds and plenty of paddling opportunities on South Creek.

Until now, the elegant Oaks Country Club has been the biggest development in Osprey, but that will change when Bay Street Village & Town Center is completed. This 45-acre mixed-use community, now under construction, will include shops, offices, restaurants, a new public library and some 500 condominiums designed within the New Urbanist framework of live-work-shop-play.

In neighboring Nokomis, the southern gateway to Casey Key, developer Henry Rodriguez is planning a 220-acre mixed-use development along S.R. 681 that will eventually include 1,950 residences and 240,000 square feet of commercial space.

VENICE

In 1925, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), a railroad union based in Cleveland, Ohio, purchased 55,000 acres in south Sarasota County and hired renowned Boston architect and planner John Nolen to create a resort city that would lure well-off winter residents from the cold Midwest. BLE realtors courted potential buyers with everything from lobster-and-candelabra picnics on the beach to hunting expeditions in the wilds of eastern Sarasota County. It worked; by the late 1920s, charming little Venice had a winter population of several thousand.

From the start, Nolen pictured a walkable, human-scaled small city, with distinct neighborhoods all within strolling distance of a few-blocks-long shopping district along Venice Avenue. Wide, landscaped boulevards and homes built around playgrounds or parks were central to Nolen’s vision for this planned city, which was one of the nation’s first.

Today a renaissance is taking place here. Small shops and restaurants flank palm-lined Venice Avenue, and nearby Venice Little Theatre and Venice Art Center are the hubs of cultural life.

Within walking distance of the compact downtown shopping district are historic 1920s-era Mediterranean Revival estates surrounded by more modest single-family homes. A few blocks west leads directly to the Gulf of Mexico and Venice Beach, a favorite spot to comb for sharks’ teeth. (The Venice Sharks Tooth Festival draws thousands of fair-goers each April.) Here are a mix of 1970s low-rise condominiums and new luxury projects.

Surrounding golf course communities—and there are many—offer a wide range of suburban ranch homes and villas with vista views.? Long-established Jacaranda Country Club, Plantation Golf & Country Club, Waterford Golf Club, Mission Valley Golf & Country Club, Calusa Lakes, Capri Isles and Pelican Pointe Golf & Country Club have been joined by posh newcomer Venetian Golf & River Club.

Two areas are about to boom. Some 3,000 acres in North Venice are slated for residential, commercial and industrial development in the next decade. Among them is Waterford Companies’ recently announced $320-million The Renaissance, with more than 800 residences, an 1,800-seat movie theater and 295,000 square feet of commercial-retail space. And in south Venice, construction is under way on the enormous Gran Paradiso on Thomas Ranch, a community of 1,999 homes ranging in price from the $300,000s to over $2 million.??

NORTH PORT

One of Florida’s fastest-growing cities and, at 120 square miles, one of the largest in land area, North Port is beckoning families and value-conscious retirees to its affordable subdivisions and its central location close to I-75 along the Sarasota-Charlotte county line. Young homeowners, many of whom commute to work in Sarasota and Fort Myers, can still find small, older carport homes for under $200,000.

Neighborhood parks, a multitude of youth programs and beautiful new schools are turning North Port into a real community. Even the cultural amenities are developing: A popular concert subscription series is held each winter in North Port High School’s performing arts center, and the North Port orchestra, chorale and concert band give public concerts there as well.?

Three major golf course communities, Bobcat Trail, Heron Creek and Sabal Trace, are attracting active retirees from the Midwest and other Northern climes. They offer two-bedroom villas and patio homes from the $300,000s, and single-family homes from $400,000 to over $1 million—a price unheard of here a few years ago. More than 80,000 visitors, including many eastern Europeans, flock each year to the healing 87-degree waters of? Warm Mineral Springs in northernmost North Port. An ambitious $50-million renovation of the resort is planned, with new condominiums, estate homes, an artists’ village and redevelopment of the springs themselves on the agenda.

In 2005, the city of North Port issued 3,008 single-family building permits, more than all the rest of Sarasota County combined. With the real estate slowdown, that number has plummeted, an developers have concentrated instead on commercial projects to support a ll that growth. Besides the 1.5 million square feet of office and retail development now under construction or being planned, new communities such as the 225-residence Talon Bay and the mammoth 2,500-home Woodlands at North Port will be coming on line.

And planning for future growth doesn’t stop. Last year, a West Palm Beach developer announced plans for the Isles of Athena on 5,800 acres in northeast North Port. Preliminary plans call for 15,000 homes and a town center with restaurants, offices and shops—virtually a brand-new city within the city. Planning and permitting are at least two years away, developers say.

BRADENTON?

A spot on the scenic Manatee River in northwest Bradenton is believed to be where Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his crew of 600 first made landfall in North America, in 1539. Today, a quarter of a million visitors from around the world annually visit the De Soto National Memorial to witness the place where De Soto started his infamous 4,000-mile journey across the southeast United States.

They also visit Bradenton—Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County’s seat of government and its largest city, with a population of just over 53,000—to relax on its beautiful beaches, play on its 21 golf courses and cheer on the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training at old-timey McKechnie Field.

Bradenton boasts a wide variety of family-friendly subdivisions, from leafy, older neighborhoods like Palma Sola Park to the mansions of Riverview Boulevard. Buyers value the area’s good schools and houses of worship, mature landscaping and easy access to the beaches. Lots of development activity is happening on the far west side of the city, where construction is under way on Palma Sola Trace and Palma Sola Bay Club.

Big changes are also afoot in downtown Bradenton, where plans have been approved for nearly 1,400 new residential units. Among them is the $200 million Promenade at Riverwalk, rising near Rossi Riverfront Park, which will eventually include 350 luxury condominiums in three high-rise Mediterranean-style buildings. Offices, retail shops and a hotel will be part of the mix, and longtime civic observers are pinning hopes on the Promenade’s revitalizing downtown’s retail sector. On the drawing board nearby is Downtown City Central, the former city hall site on Manatee Avenue and 15th Street West, where a mix of condominiums and commercial and retail space is planned.

The mile-wide Manatee River is just one of many charms of the established neighborhoods surrounding downtown Bradenton. Neighborhood parks, the South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium (home of 58-year-old Snooty, the oldest manatee in captivity), Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre, ArtCenter Manatee, a picturesque marina and a big public library are attracting homebuyers who are snapping up older properties and investing in the future of their community by renovating them.

Kendar Homes, for example, is undertaking a $30 million restoration of the historic, 1920s-era Riverpark Hotel on 10th Street West. Forty condominiums are planned for the old “Pink Palace,” as are a first-floor restaurant and hair salon.

Also downtown, working artists have transformed five formerly run-down blocks south of Manatee Avenue into the Village of the Arts. The City of Bradenton pitched in with brick-edged sidewalks and street lighting. Now, in an area that at the end of the last millennium was decidedly edgy, people flock to Friday evening art walks. While the initial flurry of activity has slowed, say area realtors, in Village of the Arts, recent home sales ranged between $280,000 and $350,000. The days of the $70,000 bargain bungalow are gone.?

THE BEACHES

Follow the sunset for a trip back in time to the historic fishing village of Cortez, on the northern mainland shore of Sarasota Bay, a quick hop from the Cortez Bridge that leads to Bradenton Beach. A walking-tour map produced by the Cortez Village Historical Society takes you past the picturesque old wood cottages and fish houses of the village’s pioneering families, 92 of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. The annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival, held the third weekend in February, draws more than 20,000 visitors to hear live music, admire nautical arts and crafts and lap up steaming plates of fresh seafood.?

Then hit the beach. Like the rest of Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County, the island communities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach—all on Anna Maria Island—are in transition. There’s still a “sand in your shoes” sensibility, but they’re no longer quite so laid-back, thanks to the current rise of multimillion-dollar beachfront condominiums. A free trolley that runs the length of the seven-mile island is an excellent way to capture the communities’ essence.

The city of Anna Maria, on the island’s north end, is home to lively waterfront seafood restaurants, beguiling boutiques and a popular municipal fishing pier with a breathtaking view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. New construction here is restricted to single-family residences.

Simple beach duplexes remain, but on North Shore Drive, stunning multimillion-dollar homes line the Gulf of Mexico. Many of them are weekend retreats for people from Tampa, Lakeland and other parts of Florida. TripAdvisor.com last fall—to some people’s surprise—named Anna Maria its favorite vacation destination in America.

On Holmes Beach, simple 1960s-era concrete block beach cottages still predominate; they’re the kind with terrazzo floors that make fast work of sweeping out sand. Here you’ll also find Key Royale, a canal-front community of executive homes where a lot of updating is going on. Boaters especially are drawn to Key Royale’s easy access to Tampa Bay and the Gulf.

Even Bradenton Beach, perhaps the area’s funkiest beach community, is growing up. The days of the inexpensive beach bungalow are over, realtors say, giving way to sophisticated condominium communities.

LAKEWOOD RANCH AND EAST COUNTY

Explosive growth has taken place throughout Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County. And nowhere is this more evident than in the master-planned community of Lakewood Ranch, east of I-75 between S.R. 70 and University Parkway. In just 10 years, 6,000 homes have been built in this “live, work, learn and play” community, along with a medical center, public and private golf courses, shops, restaurants, a major commerce center where some of the area’s biggest businesses are relocating, and even a polo club. Lakewood Ranch won the Southeast Builders Conference’s prestigious Grand Aurora Award for best master-planned community.

“There’s a tremendous sense of community here,” says Dave Minton of Bosshardt Realty Services, himself an early Lakewood Ranch settler. “We’ve got some 80 clubs and organizations, everything from bird watching to empty nesters to book reading to music to Rotary to whatever you can think of.”

Last fall, Lakewood Ranch developers announced they will build an additional 8,000 new homes northeast of the intersection of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and S.R. 70 starting in 2007. And they recently introduced two new villages: Country Club East and The Lake Club, where 1,100 custom residences will range from $3.5 million to $8 million.

Lakewood Ranch has spurred a development boom in east Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County, and several country club communities are located nearby on S.R. 70: The River Club, Rosedale Golf and Country Club, Peridia Golf and Country Club, and Tara Golf and Country Club. Nearby, the long-established single-family neighborhoods of Braden Woods, Braden Pines and Panther Ridge offer estate homes on heavily treed sites of more than one acre. The newest communities here are Lennar’s River Place and Neal Communities’ The Harborage on Braden River.?

An ultra-posh golf resort, The Concession, has joined the mix in this fast-growing eastern part of Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County. A few miles east of Lakewood Ranch, The Concession is carved from 1,232 acres of pristine oak hammocks. Golf greats Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin designed the course; the community is named for a historic moment in the final round of the 1969 Ryder Cup, when Nicklaus conceded a two-foot putt to Jacklin, resulting in the first tie in match history. Golf Digest named it “Best New Private Course of the Year” for 2006, and, at $125,000, the joiner’s fee is one of the area’s steepest.

The other major thoroughfare extending east and west from I-75 is S.R. 64, and along it are several significant new residential developments. The largest is Heritage Harbour, an amenity-packed, 2,500-acre master-planned community on the banks of the Manatee River. Rye Wilderness, with 280 home sites on lakes and nature preserves, is under way six miles east of I-75. It’s located near a bucolic 145-acre county park with river access. And WCI Communities’ new Tidewater Preserve, at 48th Street East, is going up; when complete, it will have 927 homes on 374 acres of riverfront property, nearly 90 acres of it preserved wetlands.

ELLENTON AND PARRISH

The biggest push for development now is north of the Manatee River. Less than a decade ago, orange groves, cattle ranches and tomato fields dominated the landscape north of the Manatee River toward the Tampa" target="_blank">Hillsborough County line. With a recent torrent of residential development, the peaceful old rural towns of Ellenton and Parrish are “busting at the seams,” as one longtime realtor put it.

Since 2001, 7,000 homes have been built in more than two dozen new developments. And that’s just for starters. No fewer than three major new communities are planned or under way: Pulte’s Harrison Ranch, with 1,077 homes; Medallion Homes’ Curiosity Creek, with 1,924 homes; and, with 2,500 homes, the largest of all, Taylor Woodrow’s Artisan Lakes.

Planners estimate the population in north Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County will jump from 50,000 to 237,000 by 2035.? “It’s unbridled,” a former Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County commissioner told the local newspaper last year. “It’s just happening boom, boom, boom.”

Who’s buying? A lot of first-time homebuyers and a number of commuters from Pinellas and Hillsborough counties because of the proximity of the Sunshine Skyway, realtors says.

The area’s rich history is represented by the Gamble Plantation, an antebellum mansion and headquarters of an extensive sugar plantation built by Maj. Robert Gamble. Local legend is that the Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, hid out at Gamble Plantation after the fall of the Confederacy until he could be spirited away to England. Now a state-operated historic site, the mansion is open for tours and is home to the Plantation Festival, a big arts and crafts fair that is held each April.

PALMETTO

When Samuel Sparks Lamb arrived by boat on the north shore of the Manatee River in 1866, he purchased considerable land holdings in what was to become the city of Palmetto, and named the new community after his home state of South Carolina, the Palmetto State. Wide, palm-lined streets and gracious old homes set amid moss-draped oaks still characterize the town, but to stereotype Palmetto as a sleepy Southern village would be a monumental error.

That’s because Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County’s second-largest city, population 13,106, has more than 4,200 new homes in planning or development. In the heart of the small city, not long ago known more for its tomato packing plants, the tiny downtown district is being revitalized. There’s lots of renovating of older homes, many of them from the turn of the last century, especially along scenic Riverside Drive. The private Bradenton Yacht Club and the Regatta Pointe Marina are boaters’ meccas.

On quiet Snead Island, outdoor lovers flock to 195-acre Emerson Point Park, with nature trails, canoe launches and panoramic views of Tampa Bay and the Sunshine Skyway. Estate-sized waterfront home sites and townhome developments are going up nearby.

Perhaps the catalyst for Palmetto’s building boom is the success of Riviera Dunes Resort & Yacht Club, a 288-acre riverfront development just over the DeSoto Bridge, two minutes from downtown Bradenton. Active retirees are being drawn to its 220-slip deepwater marina, trendy Mangrove Grill restaurant and custom single-family homes and condo towers.

A piece last year in The New York Times spotlighted Palmetto as a just-emerging Florida hotspot, and the place keeps booming. On the books is Sanctuary Cove, a $1 billion mixed-use development on 211 riverfront acres near the Manatee River off U.S. 301. Corvus Development plans villas, canal-front homes and seven 12-story condominium towers, plus commercial and retail space here.

Charlotte County offers more than great fishing, boating and unspoiled wilderness. It’s teeming with arts, culture and history, top-rated restaurants, new and planned waterside living and shopping. It’s not quite “Florida’s Best Kept Secret” anymore.

Three years after taking a devastating hit from Category 4 Hurricane Charley, thousands of new hurricane-hardened homes have gone up, upscale hotels are planned or under construction, the new Laishley Park and Marina is open and a cultural center is going up on the banks of Charlotte Harbor.

Nestled between Sarasota and Fort Myers along the banks of Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor and the Peace and Myakka rivers, Charlotte County has 28 miles of beaches, 821 miles of shoreline, most of it preserved, 16 golf courses and 70 parks. Manasota Key, the Babcock Wilderness area, Englewood’s charming Dearborn Street and Punta Gorda’s Fisherman’s Village all attract visitors, but it’s the varied, affordable homes and balmy weather that turns them into residents.

Ironically, Hurricane Charley, more than any other factor, may be responsible for Charlotte County’s resurgence. County leaders say it brought the community together, united under the goal of rebuilding. It also gave planners an opportunity to dream big and redesign an area that had been carved out in the 1950s and 1960s by the now-defunct General Development Corp. Back then, small single-family lots made large communities impossible, and there wasn’t enough space for much commercial development. That’s all changing.

“We’re seeing all the positive things from Charley,” says John Dibble, a 52-year resident and a broker with Coldwell Banker Morris Realty in Punta Gorda. “There’s a lot of activity, it’s taking off. Out by the airport there’s a lot of commercial. Building is going on everywhere.”

New buildings were built to withstand strong hurricanes. There’s a more consistent Mediterranean look along the U.S. 41 commercial corridor, the main north-south road through the county. A Super Wal-Mart is going up at Jones Loop Road along with a major commercial center. Major homebuilders such as Lennar and Centex have come to town, building thousands of waterfront and golf-front homes.

The housing dollar goes much further here; a median priced home is $196,000, about $40,000 less than the Florida median. And, just as it has throughout the state, prices have settled down from the investor-driven frenzy of a few years ago. “There are opportunities there for users,” says Dibble, “especially waterfront.”

Commercial construction is booming, with permits up 44 percent since last spring. Six luxury hotels are under construction or in the works, including a Sheraton Four Points along the Peace River in Punta Gorda.

Nothing pulls people to Charlotte County like its waterways and serene landscapes, and that’s been the case since 1513, when Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon landed on Charlotte Harbor. Soon after, fishing camps rose up along the banks and in later years, thriving cattle farms. Lured by world-class fishing, Northerners vacationed here in the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1950s and 1960s that development took off. That’s when brothers Frank, Elliot and Robert Mackle and their General Development Corp. began converting millionaire Arthur C. Frizzell’s cattle and timber ranch into a city of 25,000 home sites, promoting the deal that would become the state standard: a two-bedroom, one-bath vacation home for $10 down, $10 a month for 10 years.

Charlotte’s hundreds of miles of manmade canals provided quick access to the harbor and Gulf of Mexico and gave working folks a waterfront paradise. Redevelopment is changing some of that, but many modest waterfront homes remain. About 84 percent of Charlotte Harbor is protected by the state, so waterfront activities like kayaking and fishing will always be a part of living here.
About 330,000 annual visitors come here to enjoy waterfront breezes, outdoor festivals, the weekly jazz jam in Gilchrist Park, the Charlotte Symphony, Korean baseball spring training at the Charlotte Sports Park, a burgeoning arts community and of course, year-round access to the water.
The western part of the county, including Placida, Rotonda and Englewood, was virtually untouched by Hurricane Charley, but these prime waterfront locations next to Lemon Bay have drawn builders to the area.

?A mix of newer affordable housing developments is planned, including The Avenues, a townhouse-condo community in the $165,000 to $185,000 range. Waterford Estates will have 729 villas, townhomes and single-family homes in Punta Gorda, and the Harbor Inn Resort & Yacht Club will have a hotel, 114 condos, an 82-slip marina, shops and restaurant along the Peace River.
Palm Beach developer Syd Kitson recently agreed to take over the long-planned Murdock Village, which is expected to bring 3,500 homes and 1.5 million square feet of retail and commercial business to Port Charlotte in a New Urban downtown setting.

To the south and east, Kitson’s recent purchase of the sprawling, 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch will eventually create a massive new community with 18,000 homes, seven schools and 3 million square feet of commercial space. As part of the landmark deal, the state will gain a 70,000-acre Babcock Webb wildlife preserve that will expand the county’s outdoor recreation activities.

BURNT STORE

Along Burnt Store Road, neighborhoods—many with sailboat masts peeking above the rooflines—are set among farmlands and still-undeveloped property, and many offer concrete seawalls, deed restrictions, quick access to Charlotte Harbor, and a growing number of shopping centers. Access is now easier with the recent expansion of? Veterans Parkway, which links Charlotte County to neighboring Fort Myers.

The gated Burnt Store Marina is home to more than 1,600 families and has a 425-slip deep-water marina, direct Gulf access, and 27 holes of golf and traditional country club amenities at WCI Communities’ Burnt Store Marina Golf & Country Club. In nearby Burnt Store Meadows, single-family home sites are priced from $65,000 to $135,000, and single-family homes range from the low $200s to the high $400s.?

Off Burnt Store Road, Lennar is building Tern Bay Golf and Country Club, with 1,810 single-family golf course home sites and condominiums on 1,778 acres. The prime attraction is a 27-hole golf course, with a luxury clubhouse, fitness center and tennis courts.

CAPE HAZE PENINSULA

Beach proximity is the draw for this peninsula surrounded by scenic waterways and offering distinct neighborhoods in Gulf Cove, Grove City, Placida, Rotunda and South Gulf Cove.?

Cape Haze, on the southern end of the peninsula, has luxurious waterfront homes and many new condominium projects. Deep-water canals provide easy access to Boca Grande Pass. The Cape Haze homeowner’s association owns 300 feet of private beach on Don Pedro Island for residents.

Canals are carved into the western boundaries of Grove City, creating fingers of state-named streets that jut into Lemon Bay or skirt Oyster Creek. Mobile homes make up most of the entry-level housing, while those on the higher end tend to reflect their water proximity. One of them, Eagle Preserve, is a private, gated community with Key West-style homes on Lemon Bay. Homes range from under $200,000 to more than $1 million. Cedar Point Environmental Park, off Placida Road across Lemon Bay, offers guided nature walks, an environmental visitors’ center, nature programs and trails for self-guided walks.

Located near the southwest tip of the Cape Haze peninsula, Placida is surrounded by some of the best fishing waters in the world, and marinas and docks provide quick access to the Intracoastal Waterway, Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to existing single-family homes and gated communities—and hundreds more on the drawing board—Placida is home to the exclusive Coral Creek Golf Club and the Placida Harbor condominiums, whose residents enjoy a private ferry to a beachfront club on nearby Little Gasparilla Island.

Built in the 1960s and pitched nationally by spokesman Ed McMahon, the golf course community of Rotonda has a most unusual layout: it was developed in a circle with streets radiating in from Boundary Boulevard. There are seven pie-shaped neighborhoods: Pebble Beach, Oakland Hills, Pinehurst, Broadmoor, Long Meadow, White Marsh and Pine Valley. The eighth section is dense environmental preserve bordering Coral Creek. Four additional neighborhoods (Rotonda Heights, Rotonda Lakes, Rotonda Sands and Rotonda Villas & Meadows) are located just outside the circle.

On the western bank of the Myakka River north of S.R. 776, river and canal views are the big draw in Gulf Cove, although the majority of homes in this grid-like neighborhood don’t have them. Those that do can enjoy a nearly mile-long view corridor over the mighty Myakka. Non-waterfront property owners can take advantage of the community park, which has a boat ramp.

In the 1950s, General Development Corp. set out to create South Gulf Cove, digging 126 canals totaling 55 miles for freshwater and saltwater fishing and providing access to Charlotte Harbor through the Interceptor Lagoon. Until recently, this deed-restricted community of 6,200 acres had remained pretty much undiscovered as buyers opted for the more in-town locations of Port Charlotte and PGI. Today, shopping centers, new restaurants and four area golf courses have ushered in new development, and buyers are seeking out South Gulf Cove, where more than 25 percent of the neighborhood’s 15,000 lots are on the water. The newer Hidden Harbor, an upscale gated community on the neighborhood’s northern 130 acres, will one day offer 300 multifamily homes, 125 large estates and a yacht club.

CHARLOTTE HARBOR

Charlotte Harbor, named after Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III, is lined with condos and multi-acre estates. Popular neighborhoods such as Harbour Heights are going through a transition, with buyers tearing down 40-year-old homes to build million-dollar replacements. The area offers large home sites, river access, a serene setting and gorgeous views across the one-mile expanse of the Peace River.

EAST PUNTA GORDA/EAST CHARLOTTE COUNTY
Some experts predict Riverside Drive will one day resemble its stately, riverside neighbor to the south in Fort Myers, McGregor Boulevard. Signs of the transformation are already visible, as several larger homes are now under construction. The area, which offers the rare combination of acreage and Gulf access, has its nice and not-so-nice sections, as Riverside Drive heads east out of Punta Gorda, through the little village of Cleveland, past trailer courts and multimillion-dollar mansions, and paralleling the river and Highway 17.

Highway 17 and Riverside Drive follow the old Arcadia railroad line, once the main link for phosphate transportation between Punta Gorda and Boca Grande and the DeSoto County town of Arcadia. Expansion to four lanes on Route 17 has helped push people eastward, where they’ve built ranchettes on larger acreage.

ENGLEWOOD

Straddling Charlotte and Sarasota counties, the tightly knit, Gulf-front community of Englewood has a small-town feel, lots of mom-and-pop restaurants and businesses, and affordable housing. That’s starting to change as developers are attracted to its location on the Gulf of Mexico and the Myakka River. But it hasn’t changed the flavor of the place.

“It’s got no sense of corporate life whatsoever,” says Wendy Reinhardt, owner of? Wendy Reinhardt Realty in Englewood. “It’s the kind of place where the hometown hardware store will put a sign in the window that says ‘gone to lunch, be back soon.’”

Most of the area’s 50,000 residents live on the Charlotte side of the border, which includes tranquil white-sand Englewood Beach. Heading north along the water are upscale condominiums, million-dollar homes on secluded Manasota Key, and miles of unspoiled beaches all the way to Venice. In town, a YMCA and the Lemon Bay Performing Arts Center provide a host of activities.

The Myakka River borders Englewood on the east, making fishing, boating and kayaking popular pastimes. Several creeks provide access to Lemon Bay, which was named for the lemon groves established by two brothers who settled the community in 1884. They platted one-acre lots near Lemon Bay to create a downtown area. Now local shops and artists populate the Dearborn Street area, which in recent years has started to become a tourist destination. Away from the water, you’ll find family neighborhoods where two-bedroom homes can be found for under $100,000.
Five new communities are in the works, with residences in the mid 100s to high millions. “Waterfront is just about being given away,” says Reinhardt.

The MLS shows 85 listings on Manasota Key, ranging from $309,000 to $7.5 million. “You’re five seconds from the Gulf,” Reinhardt says about Englewood’s location. “How much more can you say?”

PORT CHARLOTTE

The county’s most populous community, with nearly 50,000 residents, Port Charlotte was developed in the late 1950s by General Development Corp. Those early homes, marketed to winter-weary Northerners, cost less than $20,000 and had two bedrooms, one bath and a carport. Teardowns are becoming more common for older canal-front homes; as in other Florida communities, these waterfront homes and properties are quickly outdistancing off-water prices.

Port Charlotte is also home to several 55-and-older, maintenance-free, manufactured-home communities that boast golf courses and full social calendars. Riverwood, a 1,300-acre, gated, all-ages golf and country club community developed by Centex Homes, stretches along three miles of the Myakka River in Port Charlotte and has the county’s only Golf Digest four-and-a-half-star championship golf course.

On the west side of U.S. 41, buyers will find homes with sailboat access south of Edgewater Drive, the brand-new Edgewater Dog Park, and one of Charlotte County’s few gated yacht communities, Grassy Point. Bordered by Charlotte Harbor to the south and east and Alligator Bay to the west, Grassy Point offers about 80 single-family homes on estate-sized lots, all with boat slips.

PUNTA GORDA?

Charlotte County’s only incorporated city, Punta Gorda has been named one of the country’s best places to live by several national publications, in large part because of its charming historic district, four nature and waterfront parks and the unique Fisherman’s Village—a riverfront entertainment complex with boutiques, restaurants and a marina.

Punta Gorda, Spanish for “broad or fat point,” was named for its location on a wide sweep of land that juts into Charlotte Harbor. The city traces its roots to a landing at Live Oak Point on the Peace River by Hernando de Soto in 1539. It remained a fishing town until the 1880s opening of the Punta Gorda Hotel, which welcomed more than 3,300 guests, who returned north and spread news of the great sport fishing in the waters off Boca Grande.

A bridge connecting Port Charlotte to Punta Gorda was completed in 1921, and completion of the Tamiami Trail followed seven years later. Today, Punta Gorda is home to a number of wonderful little neighborhoods. The waterfront Fisherman’s Village, a collection of stores and restaurants, is located near the bridge and is a must-stop for entertaining visitors.

Traces of the city’s past are still evident throughout a state-designated historic district, where some of the county’s oldest homes—turn-of-the-century gems with tin roofs, gingerbread woodwork and heart-pine floors—can be found within a restored Old Florida setting of cobblestone streets, period street lamps, benches and shade trees. Nearby Laishley Park has a 400-foot fishing pier, a public boat ramp and the Spirit of Punta Gorda, a sculpture made from scrapped storm steel commemorating the first anniversary of Hurricane Charley.

PUNTA GORDA ISLES

Cross over the charming canal bridge and you’ve entered Punta Gorda Isles, one of Charlotte County’s most upscale and oldest neighborhoods. Intersected by more than 100 miles of canals emptying into Charlotte Harbor, PGI is prized for its harbor and Gulf access. It’s one of several Charlotte County cities plotted in the 1950s by General Development Corp.

Today, PGI’s canals and seawalls are maintained by the city, and home prices are influenced by seawall age, condition and distance from the harbor. A few undeveloped lots remain, and as PGI gets closer to buildout, experts expect to see more teardowns. Canal-front homes can still be found in the $300s, but most run closer to $1 million.