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Lakewood Ranch, the largest multi-generational master-planned community in the U.S., has spent its 30 years in the Manatee-Sarasota region tailoring its development to what home-buyers want.
Proximity to nature has been a constant, senior Vice President Laura Cole said, but trends have come and gone since the master-planned community first broke ground. Wide open space, proximity to neighbors, bigger houses, smaller ones — every layout has had its moment in the sun.
But these days, Cole said buyers don’t just want one thing: They want everything. Catering to the modern consumer is as much about shopping centers and office space as it is about the area’s beloved nature trails and green space.
“When I want the activity, I want to have it, but I also need to decompress in this world,” Cole said. “We don’t shortchange that.”
That’s where development is headed in 2024 and beyond, Cole said. As Lakewood Ranch looks to expand into the new year, it's keeping lifestyle at the forefront, building all-encompassing communities that service all its residents’ needs.
Current development trends point to a preference for new urbanism, an approach that promotes walkability and accessibility by placing a variety of lifestyle components close together. Put simply, people want to work, shop, eat, exercise and socialize where they live, and a recent uptick in mixed-use development proposals reflect that desire.
Mixed-use developments like Waterside Park — an 8-acre community on Kingfisher Lake — emphasize this access, with restaurants, office buildings, nature trails and stores adjacent to townhomes. Master-planned communities like Lakewood Ranch saw this trend coming, Cole said, and prepared accordingly.
“You have a plan and a vision and principles, but you also have to be adaptable to market changes,” Cole said. “This is a perfect example of the flavor that we’re offering.”
Lakewood Ranch has nine new neighborhoods and villages in progress — including the multigenerational Saddlestone, the age-restricted Del Webb and the Calusa National Golf development. Erickson Senior Living, a national retirement community developer, will also break ground on the 1,200-unit Emerson Lakes development.
Last year also saw more than 2,000 home sales: a figure that’s held steady, Cole said, for the past five years or so. More than 26,000 single-family homes, townhomes, apartments and other living spaces are either built or under construction in Lakewood Ranch to keep up with demand.
Schools, retail centers with local vendors, healthcare facilities, entertainment centers and other amenities are also in the pipeline as Lakewood Ranch looks to expand to eastern parts of Sarasota and Manatee counties. The plans are alarming to some (a group of residents in the Bern Creek Ranches filed a lawsuit challenging the proposed Lakewood Ranch Southeast expansion last November), but Cole anticipates they will ultimately aid the Sarasota-Manatee area as it continues to grow.
William Russell started at the Sarasota Housing Authority about a month after the organization was placed in federal receivership in 2005.
At the time, the authority — founded in 1938 as one of the first public housing agencies in Florida — had not created any new public housing units since 1978. The units it did have were old, lacking central air-conditioning and in drastic need of replacement.
Federal regulators found the agency troubled "in several aspects, including financial, physical condition, and management," according to the housing agency's website.
Those failures led the authority on a path that has resulted in construction of several new projects near the Newtown area, including an 84-unit development called Cypress Square.
The affordable housing development will offer units to people making as little as 30% of the area median income — about $25,000 for a family of three — up to a family of three making 80% of the area's median income, or about $65,000.
Russell noted the agency helps anyone from nurses and teachers to people on disability or the elderly on fixed incomes.
"It really runs the gamut, " he said about who Cypress Square could help when it's completed later this year.
Russell, president and chief executive for the housing authority, said the poor shape of public housing sparked a community conversation and a plan that has seen most of the old public housing torn down and replaced with new large buildings constructed to last.
Russell recently toured Cypress Square, a $34 million development in the 1,600 block of 21st Street just east of Amaryllis Park Place, a senior living affordable housing development completed in early 2022.
The three buildings at Cypress Square have a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units and replaced dozens of smaller, barracks-style housing built in the 1950s. Rents could be as high as $1,640 for someone making 80% of the area median income or as low as $617 for someone making less than 30% of the average median income.
The new units are no different than newer market rate units under construction in other areas of Sarasota County by private developers.
Greg Hodge, the project manager for NDC Construction, said in some ways, Cypress Square is superior to many of the market-rate units being developed, noting the sturdy masonry-block construction. He said many modern multifamily projects have favored wood frame over the more costly concrete block construction used in Cypress Square.
Cypress Square started development during the pandemic with the building permit issued in February 2022. However, delays with concrete stretched the building's timeline and cost.
Hodges said the first building should be completed sometime in the next couple of months, possibly in May, with the third apartment building close behind. The middle building could take a bit longer, which will require moving fencing around the construction site while tenants move into the first two buildings.
At the Sarasota County School Board meeting Feb. 20, Board Member Robyn Marinelli remarked that she felt some of the people speaking during public comments are “changing the narrative of what is going on.”
Marinelli asked district Superintendent Terry Connor several questions, two of which I will address in this letter.
Marinelli asked whether Connor had been told that teachers are feeling under threat of being fired or of not being supported by “this board.”
Marinelli needs to trust those of us in this community who know teachers and know that they are feeling threatened. She should realize that teachers are not going to divulge that information to the very people they feel threatened by.
Marinelli also asked whether Connor has received any information that students are being harmed. Does she actually pay attention during School Board meetings?
Several students have faced the board to bravely proclaim that the actions of the board – and those of some individual members – are hurting them and that they do not feel safe in school.
It is unacceptable that students do not feel safe at school.
And it is sickening that Marinelli does not believe the community and the students.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says Red tide is just one type of harmful algal bloom caused by high concentrations of toxic microscopic algae.
They add in the state of Florida, and the along the Suncoast and areas near the Gulf of Mexico, the alga that causes most red tides is Karenia brevis.
Officials say many times, Red tides occur most often in late summer and early fall.
The reaction to exposure to the strain can include everything from respiratory irritation or illness if it’s inhaled.
Doctors and researchers at the Roskamp Institute say among developing and researching new treatments for various brain disorders, they’re also taking a closer look at the effects of the environment on health.
“In recent years, we’ve also become involved in some environmental toxicology work, so we’ve been looking at the environmental and human health effects of red tide,” said Roskamp Institute President and CEO Dr. Fiona Crawford, Ph.D.
If a red tide is carried by currents and winds to nearshore water, the algae can use nutrients from nearby watersheds to promote and increase growth, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
To learn more about red tide, and possible health effects, visit:
Want to enjoy the laidback Florida way of life? Whether you’re looking for an oceanfront home or you’re drawn to a more rural lifestyle, these seven properties boast more than 10 acres immersed in nature, offering homeowners peace and tranquility.
Drivers in Palmetto along U.S. 41 said traffic, on most days, is a nightmare.
"Took me two hours Thursday to get from here to Manatee. It's four miles," driver Sherry Batye explained.
Action Air One flew over the area one morning during rush hour, and traffic was bumper to bumper for more than a mile.
The owner of Burger & Pancake House, located on the corner of 17th Street, said bad traffic is bad business.
"Last Wednesday morning, that big traffic, we lost big-time business because nobody wanted to come out because it's going to take them hours to get here and hours to go back," Ismail Ilhan explained.
When U.S. 41 gets backed up, people pack U.S. 301.
"The bridges are terrible, and you've got to get over them," Batye added.
On top of an already hectic commute in Palmetto, there's construction from 17th Street to Bayshore Road.
FDOT sent us this statement:
"The State Road 45 (U.S. bus 41) from 17th Street to Bayshore Road and roundabout project is in the later stages of completion. In fact, they are paving the roadway and anticipating completion by April. Also, the right turn onto 23rd is open, as is the left turn onto 26th."
Meanwhile, Ilhan said U.S. 41 should be on local officials' radar even without the construction.
"They are trying to build more community around here. More community means more people, more vehicles, but I don't see they are creating alternative roads going across from the river. That's the big problem. I think they need another bridge because these two are not enough," Ilhan said.
With the apropos date of March 11 approaching, Manatee County representatives say they are officially relaunching their Manatee 311 app, which they say will give residents another option to connect with the county other than dialing the 311 Call Center.
The Manatee 311 app can be used to report potholes, broken street lights, graffiti, abandoned vehicles and more. Those using the app can add photos and the county uses a geofence to direct staff to the exact location of where that photo was taken.
The app also allows users to pay utility bills, sign up for reminders of trash and recycling days, look up information such as evacuation routes and levels, flood zones, polling sites, location of emergency shelters, location of bus stops, location of hospitals and more.
Manatee 311 provides information about parks, preserves, beaches, boat ramps, historical sites, and more.
Marcia Bacon, the supervisor of the Manatee County 311 Call Center, said it now typically takes county employees two days to respond to problems such as potholes and downed signs once they are reported to Manatee 311.
Hundreds of visitors experienced Wellen Park’s welcoming vibe, explored professionally decorated model homes and enjoyed the hospitality of the community’s builders, plus activities and live music in Downtown Wellen during the second annual Model Home Showcase.
The Feb. 10 event featured self-guided tours of 34 fully furnished model homes in 11 neighborhoods, where homebuilders treated guests to light bites and beverages, entertainment, caricatures, demonstrations, photo booths, games and giveaways.
The model home extravaganza illustrated the array of new homebuying opportunities, floor plans and pricing available in Wellen Park, ranked among the U.S.’s top 10 selling master-planned communities in 2023 by prominent real estate consulting firms RCLCO and John Burns.
Featuring the latest in architecture and interior design, the models included paired villas, single-family homes and estates, semi-custom and custom homes, with open-concept floor plan offer two to four bedroom and 1,400 to 3,700 square feet of living space. Model home base prices range from $430,000s to over $1.5 million.
For those who were unable to join the event, a digital version of the Model Home Showcase tour book is available for viewing online.
"No matter what the weather is in the region, March is certainly roaring in like a lion in terms of the number of arts events being presented in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. I may be off by a couple, but I think it’s the busiest month of the year, with more than 70 openings. I have compiled the biggest and most prominent events in our monthly arts calendar. I’m sure items will be added to the list before March fades into April."
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