Good Vibrations

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 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 Manatee County will jump from 50,000 to 237,000 by 2035.  “It’s unbridled,” a former 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 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.