Whitney Beach

Whitney Beach Real Estate for Sale – Longboat Key, Sarasota, Florida 34228

The Whitney Beach neighborhood on Longboat Key is drawing increased home buying interest not so much on new residential property developments that reinvigorated the market for Sarasota homes for sale. Renewed market enthusiasm in this community at the northern end of the barrier island has been fostered by the recent makeover of its nearby 10-acre Whitney Beach shopping plaza whose deterioration had previously been a turnoff for prospective home buyers in the locality.

The plaza’s decline started in the 1980s when a Publix Super Market opened at the other end of the Longboat Key. The Whitney Beach shoppers’ hub started its rehabilitation in 2012 when it was acquired by a group of Bradenton investors.

$2-million makeover

The new owners of the property have already invested $2 million in the shopping center. It now sports a new Key West-style metal roof, and a new air conditioning system and signage were also installed. Besides a coating of fresh paint, the Whitney Beach Plaza likewise improved its landscaping, and its parking lot was also repaved and restriped. The Whitney Beach Plaza owners have opened a liquor store in the center and look forward to having a market or grocery store, bar and kayak rental shop in their property.

Six new tenants, including a café, have been lured by the facelift of the 25-unit strip mall and are already generating added customer traffic. A further increase in business activity can be expected as Whitney Beach is under an overlay district approved in 2012 and designed to spur additional mixed-use development in the area. With this zoning regulation, rejuvenation of a bank and gas station near the plaza is a distinct possibility.

Strategic location

Besides the plaza’s makeover, buying interest in Sarasota homes for sale in Whitney Beach is sharpened by this community’s convenient location close to the Gulf of Mexico Drive, the main road bisecting the 12-mile length of Longboat Key. Southward, this road leads to access points to the life and leisure attractions of St. Armands Circle and farther east to lifestyle options at Sarasota’s downtown district. Northward, the choices shift to the attractions of Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria Island.

Longboat Key’s own attractions are but of course even closer. Just across west of the plaza, for instance, is one of the public access points to the barrier island’s beach frequented by college students and families with young children. Public parking for beachgoers is available at nearby Broadway Street which also provides access to two fine local dining venues—Mar Vista Dockside & Restaurant Pub and Moore’s Stone Crab. The Longboat Key Center for Art, a haven for artists and art enthusiasts, is likewise located close to Whitney Beach.

The Sleepy Lagoon Park is one of the subdivisions at Whitney Beach which offers plenty of choices among Longboat Key homes for sale. Many of the properties typically sales-listed in this neighborhood are million-dollar waterfront homes featuring three to seven bedrooms within floor plans ranging from 2,120 up to nearly 9,000 square feet. Typical listings here also include smaller canal-front homes priced between the $600s and close to the $900s.

Whitney Beach Homes for Sale

Below are the current real estate listings available at Whitney Beach

Please contact me if you would like to schedule a tour of any of the listed properties below.

MLS# A4578520 - Status: Active View Property Details Add to Favorites View Map

• 6701 GULF OF MEXICO DR #331
• Price: $1,150,000
• Zip Code: 34228
• 1449 Square Feet
• Subdivision: WHITNEY BEACH III
• Bedrooms: 2 Baths: 2
• Discover paradise within this Gulf front condominium that blends the lifestyle of a relaxed community with the luxury of a 5-star hotel. Tucked away within a serene and unpretentious setting, you'll experience the allure of a private beach, captivati ... Read More
• Listing courtesy of: COLDWELL BANKER REALTY

MLS# A4563904 - Status: Active View Property Details Add to Favorites View Map

• 6700 GULF OF MEXICO DR #135
• Price: $699,000
• Zip Code: 34228
• 1441 Square Feet
• Subdivision: WHITNEY BEACH
• Bedrooms: 2 Baths: 2
• Wonderful Whitney Beach awaits. This first floor two bedroom, two bath residence was JUST REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE! Overlooking Bishops Bayou from the lanai, this condominium home is renovated and ready for its new owners. Brand new stainless steel app ... Read More
• Listing courtesy of: MICHAEL SAUNDERS & COMPANY