Sales of available properties at Coral Shores, one of the popular boating communities in West Bradenton, appear going on a brisk pace. As per the last count in the MLS of Sarasota homes for sale, six properties out of a dozen listings in this community already have pending contracts.
Further stimulus to market activity here and in neighboring communities like the Palma Sola Trace of national homebuilder Taylor Morrison can be expected. Plans have been announced recently for the development of The Crossroads, a mixed commercial-residential project on a 1,300-acre site just east of Coral Shores and southwest of Palma Sola Trace across Cortez Road.
A former gladioulus plantation owned by the Whiting Preston family, this proposed development is envisioned for 6,500 homes, 2.78 million square feet of commercial-retail-office space, and a pair of 250-room hotels. This project will be divided into three distinct zones—district, borough, and neighborhood.
The borough will be developed around a 19-acre man-made lake south of Cortez and west of 75th Street. Biking and walking trails are also on the drawing boards, running southeast across 75th street spilling into a larger section going all the way 51st Street.
Four concepts have been identified for The Crossroads’ district zone. These include the Workplace area, the Main Street, the Service Center, and District General. The zone is also planned to incorporate a regional shopping center.
Orlando-based master urban planner Canin Associates is behind the Crossroads’ draft design code. Much of its template was drawn by successful developments like the Baldwin Park and the Avalon Park in Orlando. The plan for the Preston property was likewise largely influenced by the “How We Will Grow” report of Manatee County and by a similar work from the Urban Land Institute. The Crossroads is expected to epitomize the suburban communities encouraged under the Manatee plan—developments with cul-de-sacs and are in adherence to higher aesthetic standards.
Throughout the Crossroads, cultural facilities, churches, and daycares will be woven with other mixed uses. In the Neighborhood General, for instance, bed-and-breakfast establishments will be allowed. Plans for this area call for 3,500 homes which could include three-story single family dwellings and attached homes. The Neighborhood Centers, another feature of the neighborhood zone, would be the domain not only for three-story homes but also for small mixed-use buildings, live-work units, apartments, and office buildings.
The Borough is planned for 3,000 homes and is proposed for higher density mixed use. Besides single and attached homes, its blueprint also calls for larger apartment buildings up to six stories in height. Those to be constructed within 60 feet of the Neighborhood General would have to be not taller than three stories for a harmonious look among the neighboring structures.
The alleys and streets of the neighborhoods will be supplemented by a Dutch-inspired brick-paved promenade area to pull in the community together. Parks and green space are also the dominant features planned for The Crossroads. Some homes will have a new, a small park in-between the residences. Half-acre parks, dog parks, playgrounds, and two-acre parks are the other greenbelt zones which future residents of this development could expect to have.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, October 7, 2019 – Property values of communities in the Sarasota-Manatee region now face lesser threat from neighborhood eyesores brought about by abandoned, foreclosed homes. Known in the real estate trade as zombie foreclosures, these properties have shrunk significantly in the region. According to an August report of ATTOM Data Solutions, abandoned […] more>>