The takeover of Warm Mineral Springs by the city of North Port last year appears delivering positive results and those apprehensive about the fate of this tourist attraction iconic of south Sarasota can now heave a sigh of relief.
Previously, the city and Sarasota County owned the hot springs jointly after they bought the 87-acre property in 2010 for $5.5 million from a private owner. North Port bought the county’s share in September 2014, after a squabble in management which saw Warm Mineral Springs closed in two separate instances.
Three months after the takeover of the city, its finance department reported earning close to 47% from over $270,000 revenue collected from the property fabled for its rejuvenating hot springs. Retail sales of small merchandise items, such as snacks and T-shirts, in the facility have been started, and plans are afoot to bring back previous amenities like a spa, water aerobics and restaurant.
Warm Mineral Springs doesn’t only draw tourists, as it also attracts searchers of Sarasota homes for sale fascinated by the supposed healing properties of its waters. Many old-time residents, in fact, have chosen to live in this area permanently because of the local hot springs which has been tied to the legendary fountain of youth sought by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon.
Notably, at De Leon Drive just walking distance northeast of Warm Mineral Springs, a 3,450-square-foot home with four bedrooms and four baths was added in June 2015 among newly listed Sarasota homes for sale at an asking price in the mid-$300s. At the same neighborhood, a 2,250-square foot residence designed with three bedrooms and two baths is also among new sales listings of homes priced in the upper $300s.
The interest of some rental investors can also be piqued by some listings of lower-priced Sarasota homes for sale in this area. Typically, these residences are in the market with tag prices in the $100s, featuring floor areas from about 1,000 up to about 1,800 square feet and designed with either two or three bedrooms.
Plans in the pipeline for Warm Mineral Springs could potentially whet market interest further on Sarasota homes for sale around this facility. Action is expected in June 2015 from the North Port County Commission regarding a proposal to build a medical tourism site on a 16-acre site adjacent to War Mineral Springs.
The proponent of this project is Dr. Grigory Pogrebinsky, a New York City pain management physician who has earlier made an unsuccessful bid to manage Warm Mineral Springs. This time, Dr. Pogrebinsky is proposing to develop medical and professional offices, residences, retail shops and restaurants on the site next the hot springs. Earlier, the doctor teamed up with other investors to form WMS Sarasota for the purchase of the 16 acres near the springs to the tune of about $1.5 million.
The North Port Planning and Zoning Board has already approved unanimously the doctor’s medical tourism plan. The city commissioners have also passed on first reading the rezoning of the Warm Mineral Springs area to pave the way for this project.
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>>