SARASOTA, FLORIDA, August 17th, 2016 – The revitalization of the Historic Ware’s Creek Neighborhood just west of downtown Bradenton continues to move forward and help push interest on Manatee homes for sale. Early in 2016, the dredging of the community’s namesake creek was successfully completed. Likewise favorable for downtown Bradenton homes for sale, an infill project with a park component will soon commence on 9th Avenue West off the eastern bank of the waterway.
As part of the project, eight old and blighted homes on lots along 17th Street West and 8th Avenue West were also demolished. The lot lines of these city-owned properties have already been platted, and the eight sites will shortly be put on the market. The homes that would be built here shall follow the Old Florida character of the Ware’s Creek community.
The proceeds from the sale of the eight lots will partly fund the cost of the development of the park which will be called the John and Rebecca Neal Park as per one of the conditions when the city bought the properties from the Neal family in 2012.
Neal Communities acquired these parcels during the Great Recession for redevelopment but this did not push through. The developer eventually sold the properties to the city below their $1.3 million total appraised value. The deal was closed at about $285,000 with the stipulation that if the city builds a park on the site, the naming rights go to the Neals.
The park’s design has already been completed and will next undergo a review process for final approval and a definitive cost estimate. Located just across the Ballard Park Elementary School, this park will feature a community garden, dock, and kayak launch.
This infill project comes as a fitting follow-through to the recently completed dredging of Ware’s Creek which also included such major items as handrails, fencing, and asphalt and sod repairs along the waterway. Budgeted for $57.8 million, this dredging project has also proved its flood mitigation value when no local flooding was reported within the Cedar Hammock‒Wares Creek basin at the height of tropical storm Colin in June.
Both the infill project and the creek dredging likewise complement the continuing efforts of the Ware’s Creek Neighborhood Association to revitalize their community. Some of its major efforts include not only regular cleanup of the creek. Previously, the homeowners have successfully petitioned the city to revert the community’s zoning to single family homes and strictly regulate existing apartment rental properties in their locality which has a total of about 280 residences.
Keeping the new homes of the infill project in synch with the community’s character should also help lift market interest in Ware’s Creek homes for sale, hopefully including attention from millennials seeking the advantage of living close to the downtown and its many career opportunities.
Most of the sales listings in this community are one- and two-story Florida bungalows built from the 1920s and onwards, all affordably priced and many with modern upgrades. Typical Bradenton homes for sale at Ware’s Creek include residences with floor plans of between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet designed with two to four bedrooms and priced in the $100s.
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>>