SARASOTA, FLORIDA, September 14th, 2016 – Sales listings of newly built single family homes in the Longboat Key real estate market are quite few but more may soon be added to its stock of never-occupied, single detached residences.
Early in September 2016, Land Resource Strategies LLC filed a town referendum request to pave the way for developing 10 new homes on a 1.8-acre property at 5630 Gulf of Mexico Drive south of Cedars Tennis Resort. The petition was filed on behalf of custom builder Brista Homes Inc. of Sarasota which is contracting for a $1.35 million purchase of this acreage from the Mote Scientific Foundation.
The owner and president of Brista Homes, Mark Ursini, emphasized in the request his company’s superb track record not only in constructing custom-built residences but also in renovating condominiums in the island. Ursini, himself a resident of Sutton Place in Longboat Key, noted that Brista Homes’ completed condo renovations include projects at Aquarius Club, Islander Club, L’Ambiance, Pierre, Privateer and Promenade, all located on the island.
The parcel Ursini is eying for residential development is currently zoned limited commercial, but it now apparently lacks viability for commercial use. It was originally sales-listed in 2003 but there were no takers. The referendum Brista Homes seeks is for March 2017 and would ask Longboat Key residents to weigh in on a zoning shift to residential use for the property.
If a rezoning is passed in the referendum, Ursini will pursue development of an enclave of coastal contemporary homes compatible with the residences of Longboat neighborhoods. The Brista Homes’ new builds, he indicated, would be compatible with the town’s lifestyle of open spaces, lush landscaping, and outdoor amenities including boat docks, pool, cabana, fire pit, and grill area.
In current listings of Longboat Key homes for sale, the corridor of Gulf of Mexico Drive has only three high-end, new single family homes available. One sits less than a mile south of the planned Brista Homes enclave. Set for completion this year, it is a collaborative work of Clifford M. Scholz Architects and Perrone Construction which pooled their award-winning expertise in a five-bedroom, 7,250-square-foot estate home with a tag price of $8.4 million.
Towards the northern end of Longboat Key, there is another luxury single family home under construction at the community of Sleepy Lagoon. This residence, priced at $1.85 million, lies adjacent to a canal with direct access to Sarasota Bay and is rendered in the British West Indies style, featuring three bedrooms within a floor area of 3,406 square feet.
Further demonstrating the premier location of the planned Brista Homes project, some pre-owned resale homes at Tarawitt Drive just south of the site are likewise amongst high-end Longboat Key homes for sale. A three-bedroom, canal-front residence along this street with a floor plan of 1,920 square feet is currently offered at an asking price of approaching $1.15 million.
Also down this street towards the bay are two Longboat Key homes for sale priced in the $700s. These residences are both designed with three bedrooms within floor plans of nearly 2,000 square feet and bask amid the island attractions that Brista Homes hopes to capitalize in on its proposed 10-home 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>>