Author: Preferred Properties

One of the best things about living in West Bradenton is that you are so close to Holmes Beach, Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key, yet you are still in the middle of a vibrant, bustling city offering everything you need. While not as “touristy” as the barrier islands, most of the residents are definitely here to take advantage of the proximity of the Gulf of Mexico.

West Bradenton enjoys it’s own coastline in addition to it’s access to the Gulf Beaches. There are single family homes and condos built on canals that attract boaters, allowing them to dock in their own backyards and motor out to the Intercoastal Waterway and the Manatee River. There are other homes with spectacular views of the Intercoastal, where the water is only deep enough for a kayak or canoe.  

There are lots of parks found in West Bradenton and many wildlife sanctuaries. G.T. Bray Park’s facilities include a fitness center, group exercise classes, an Olympic-sized pool, kiddie pool and splash pad, teen center, hard and clay tennis courts, racquetball, pickleball, and a gym to play basketball, volleyball, badminton, and cornhole.  

Bradenton’s Riverwalk is downtown Bradenton’s showpiece. Overlooking the Manatee River, the Riverwalk is a 1.5-mile, ADA-accessible park spanning downtown with many features such as a beach volleyball court, fishing pier, skateboard park, mosaic amphitheater,  playground and splash-zone and more! Other parks in West Bradenton include DeSoto National Memorial, Palma Sola Botanical Park, and so many more. 

Wildlife preserves are plentiful in West Bradenton, like Robinson’s Nature Preserve, Perico Preserve, and Neal Preserve. Even some developed communities, like Wildwood Springs Condominiums, are arranged in an Audubon bird and wildlife sanctuary. 

Several topnotch sports facilities can be found along the El Conquistador Parkway in West Bradenton.  These include the IMG Academy and the United Tennis Club. IMG Academy is the world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and educational institution for young athletes from all over the world. It’s sport programs include baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, and track and field. The United Tennis Club at El Con is a private tennis club in Bradenton, FL featuring 15 Har-Tru Courts, 6 Hard Courts, Tennis Concierge and Bar & Grill. 

Want culture? West Bradenton’s got it. There’s the Village of the Arts, which is an eclectic live-work community made up of colorful historic cottages that house everything from award-winning restaurants to specialty shops, studios, healing arts, bakeries and Bradenton’s best art galleries. There are museums – the South Florida Museum, comprised of exhibits and artifacts that touch on history, culture, the animal kingdom, and the natural world, and the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez, whose exhibits touch on pleasure boating, commercial fishing, and maritime transportation, and covers a vast block of time stretching back hundreds of years to when Florida wasn’t even a state. 

With so much to offer, West Bradenton is a great place to live. Talk to one of our agents today to help you find the perfect home!

Lakewood Ranch, located “east of 75” (as the locals say) is a 31,000 acre award-winning master planned community that straddles Manatee and Sarasota counties. It is home to 20 individual villages (and growing!), offering single family homes, town homes, villas and condominiums. Some have golf courses, some are gated, some are 55+.

31,000 acres translates into 50 square miles, and that’s enough area for ‘The Ranch’ to have it’s own Main Street! It’s filled with shopping, dining, arts, entertainment, nature and recreation. The great outdoors are all around – walking and biking paths and even a doggie splash park. If you’re an avid golfer, tennis player or just like the social scene, the Golf & Country Club will not disappoint you.

The Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch has every field sport under the sun for athletes ranging from youth to professional. There are tons of family-friendly events to attend with local, state and national events year-round. And as if that’s not enough, there are 130 acres of perfectly manicured grounds, the Sarasota Polo Club, where there are seven world-class polo fields and a regulation-size arena. Polo players from all over the world come to Lakewood Ranch to play. 

The primary and secondary schools in Lakewood Ranch are consistently A-rated, and there are nine campuses of higher education, with emphasis on business, vocational, culinary and medical programs. Setting aside land specifically for educational institutions was a big part of the Ranch’s master plan.

What more could you ask for? Contact one of our agents today to help you find your home on “The Ranch.”

If you want to live in the lap of luxury, surrounded by sparkling coastal waters, able to walk to almost any kind of restaurant or theater production, then you just have to live in downtown Sarasota. There is almost every style of home offered here that you can imagine – high-rise and low-rise condominiums, quaint bungalows from the 1920’s, single-story ranch style homes from the 1950’s, contemporary townhouses – the works!

“Downtown,” as the locals call it, is comprised of several mini-neighborhoods, each with it’s own history and it’s own character.

Laurel Park

An eclectic mix of single family homes and apartment buildings dating back to the 1920’s. Most of the streets are paved with bricks and 45 of the homes and structures in Laurel Park have City or National historic register designation. Some new construction is happening there too, but the real draw to this community is the feeling of stepping back in time, yet being able to walk to modern civilization.

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Golden Gate Point

This tiny peninsula jets out into Sarasota Bay to the south just before you drive over the John Ringling Causeway Bridge on your way to Lido Beach. Condominiums dominate this 22 acre stretch of land, ranging from the single- and double-story variety to uber-luxurious high-rises. Palm trees line the streets as you meander around the Point, and you’re still only steps away from the restaurants and entertainment on the mainland.

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The Rosemary District

In October 2018, SRQ Magazine dubbed this northern section of downtown “Rising Rosemary”  because of it’s transformation from humble roots to it’s now bustling, revitalized neighborhood. Some of the established condominiums and townhouses are now being combined with newly constructed ones, offering a variety of choices in housing. Several new businesses, restaurants and cafes and other services have popped up in the community and it is still close enough to walk to Main Street.

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Palm Avenue

If you’re into art galleries, shopping, restaurants and upscale salons, you will LOVE living in this part of downtown. Existing high-rise condominiums are being joined by new ones, so there are plenty to choose from. Famous for it’s “First Friday Walks,” it’s a come-one-come-all outdoor event the first Friday of every month, where there is live music, gallery openings and more to be enjoyed from 6 pm to 9 pm.

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Gillespie Park

Another up-and coming neighborhood north of Fruitville Road, this part of downtown was named for Sarasota’s first mayor, John Gillespie. The park itself, which boasts two basketball courts, an off-leash dog park, picnic tables, playground, fitness trail, three tennis courts, outside fitness areas and a pond, is flanked by street after street of single family homes and cottages and small apartment buildings. In March 2020, Sarasota Magazine wrote that “Gillespie Park Is Proof That Walkability Can Turn a Neighborhood Around.”  

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There is so much more that Downtown Sarasota has to offer – you really need to see it for yourself. And you will definitely want to take advantage of the Sarasota Farmer’s Market held every Saturday on Lemon Avenue.  Call one of our agents, who know and love this town so well, to help you find your keys to Sarasota Paradise!