Newsletter 114

NEWS FROM THE SUNCOAST …..

MOVES LIKE JAGGER

Another rock star now has a home in Sarasota-Manatee. Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and his ballet dancer girlfriend Melanie Hamrick have bought a Manatee County house at 15809 Clearlake Ave. in The Lake Club in Lakewood Ranch, according to Michael Saunders & Company. The four-bedroom estate sits on roughly a third of an acre surrounded by lake views and includes 8,394 square feet under the roof and 5,726 square feet of living or business space. It was sold for $1,980,000 on October 28, according to MSC, with the couple choosing the home primarily for its privacy and to be close to Hamrick’s family, who lives in the area. Tina Ciaccio, who works in MSC’s Lakewood Ranch office and served as listing agent for the property, said the couple never visited the house in person before purchasing, instead interacting with them through a FaceTime appointment with their buyer’s agent. To read more on this story, courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, please click here: Jagger

SIESTA KEY RENTAL MARKET STRONG

Despite the dire pandemic warnings, as of late November, the outlook for the Siesta Key rental market during the all-important "season" remains strong, property managers on the Key tell the Siesta Sand. "Our properties are reserved a year in advance," said Beth Dilley of Ascendia Group, in discussing the challenges posed by the Coronavirus. "We are booked for season right now, but it truly is a day-to-day, nail-biting time. What we’re experiencing now could never have been imagined," she said, speaking the words that ring true for everyone. With properties that include condominiums as well as single family homes, the majority of Ascendia’s guest are from the US. "We have had some cancellations from overseas customers," she said, "which we anticipated. "For more on this story, please click here: Siesta Rentals Strong

SURVEY FINDS GROWTH IS TOP CONCERN

In a sign of how Sarasota County residents are doing during the coronavirus pandemic, the county government’s annual opinion survey revealed that 56% of those surveyed in the workplace say they are concerned about their ability to meet financial obligations over the next three months as a result of COVID-19. In its 29th year of taking the pulse of county residents, the survey revealed that the most pressing concern is growth and development. Traffic congestion, however, is inching downward as a secondary, related complaint. With new housing starts and new residents pouring into Southwest Florida, the topic moved to the most important issue in the county. The survey found a 30% increase in the number of people citing population growth or new development as an issue. The decrease in those who said traffic is an issue dropped from 9% in 2019 and 3% in 2020.
"While we can think that maybe COVID is the reason for this decrease in transportation importance, this is just one year that we’ve seen this data trend decrease," said Angela Crist of the University of South Florida’s Institute of Government. There’s more on this story here: Survey Results

LONGBOAT KEY ESTATE SELLS FOR $16.5 MILLION

One of the most volatile and challenging years for the Sarasota-Manatee residential real estate market is ending on a record note. The Longboat Key mansion known as "Serenissima" – Italian for "the most serene" – sold recently for an eye-popping $16.5 million, the highest price ever paid for a local residence listed on the Multiple Listing Service. The home, at 845 Longboat Club Road along the Gulf of Mexico, came on the market in early 2017 for $26.5 million, a local record list price. It was reduced in 2019 to $22.5 million and in January was lowered by owners Mike and Michele McKee to $19.75 million at what was then the most expensive home for sale in the region. Michael Moulton, a broker-associate with Michael Saunders & Co., worked the listing for nearly four years, an uncommonly long time to retain an ultra-luxury listing. Please follow the jump for more on this story: LBK Estate Record Sale

$500M UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS ON HORIZON

In the next five years, Sarasota County is slated to spend more than $500 million to update its aging water and utility infrastructure system. The county is also growing, as is the cost of maintaining its water, wastewater and reclaimed water system that’s spread out over 25 miles from University Parkway down to North Port.
At the same time, Sarasota County commissioners will be faced with several major policy hurdles in the not so distant future, including converting unregulated private underground pipes and maintenance structure, such as those found in mobile home parks, to the county’s wastewater collection system. Sarasota also buys a large percentage of its water from Manatee County and that purchase agreement ends five years from now. Efforts to extend the agreement have proven unsuccessful. There’s more on this story here: Utility Improvements Coming

SIESTA MAN WALKED HOME AFTER SHARK BITE

The victim of a Tuesday morning shark bite has been identified as a 39-year-old man whose arm and hand were bitten while he was swimming off of Siesta Key.
A female caller told a 911 operator that the victim was swimming off Siesta Key when he was bitten. He walked home afterward, but bled profusely in the house after he got back. The caller told the dispatcher that the victim was alert but "bleeding to death." The dispatcher explained to the caller and another person present how to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived. Sarasota County has had just seven unprovoked shark attacks in the past 138 years, according to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File, and Manatee County has had four.
Please click here for more: Siesta Shark Attack

$6.8 MILLION SALE TOPS IN 2020 ON CASEY KEY

A 1.6-acre Gulf-to-bay estate has sold for $6.8 million – the year’s highest sale price on Casey Key. The Nokomis property on Casey Key has 174 feet of frontage on Blackburn Bay as well as a stunning view along 164 feet of Gulf of Mexico frontage. The 4,866-square-foot four-bedroom, five-bath home has unobstructed waterfront views, a tennis court, pool, private boat house dock and lift. The Colonial Caribbean-style residence is at 2613 Casey Key Road, according to a news release from Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. The home had been owned by Charles and Wendy Weiss since 2007, Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s records indicate. Click here for more: Casey Key $6.8 Million

STUDY SHOWS DEPTH OF PLASTIC CRISIS

For the first time, a study produced by the nonprofit ocean conservation organization Oceana reveals the extent of how harmful plastic can be to marine mammals. "In our report, there a lot of examples of what happens when marine mammals swallow plastic: lots of detrimental effects leading to, in the worst case, death," lead author and Oceana senior scientist Kimberly Warner said. "There’s also quite a lot of pain and discomfort and sublethal effects by impacting or perforating the gut." Since 2009, the study shows nearly 1,800 animals from 40 different species were adversely affected by plastics. Among the largest groups were manatees and sea turtles and nearly 80% of the animals in the report were listed as threatened or endangered. There’s more here: Plastic Crisis Study

LITTLE LOVE FOR HOTEL PROJECT

The wrangling over a proposed seven-storey, 120-bed hotel on Siesta Key officially began recently at a virtual workshop that was so well attended that those hoping to get feedback on the proposal had to turn away latecomers. The development team pitching its plan repeatedly downplayed the size and scope of the project. They also suggested that the developer’s request to change the county’s underlying zoning regulations, which would impact other areas of Siesta Key, wasn’t that big a deal.
Meanwhile, residents expressed concerns about an increase in traffic along Stickney Point and surrounding roadways, pedestrian safety, hurricane evacuations and the possibility that larger developments on Siesta Key are exacerbating flooding issues. Some residents even criticized the architecture firm Kimley-Horn, which also conducted a traffic study for the Benderson Development’s Siesta Promenade project just up the street on U.S. 41. Residents suggested that Kimley-Horn botched traffic impact studies and was responsible for other shortsighted oversights that will forever alter the primary entrance to Siesta Key. Please follow the link for more on this story: Siesta Hotel

SARASOTA ORCHESTRA TO BRING MUSIC TO PARKS

The Sarasota Orchestra is launching a series of 11 free outdoor concerts that will bring small groups of musicians to area parks from December through April.
With financial support from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, the orchestra will present concerts by three wind and brass ensembles. The musicians have not been involved in the orchestra’s current indoor chamber concert season because they cannot wear masks while playing their instruments. With outdoor programs, it is considered safer for them to blow into their instruments. If you’d like to read more, please click here: Outdoor Concerts

MARITIME MUSEUM AFLOAT?

A group of boating enthusiasts believes Florida isn’t doing enough to collect, preserve and display Florida’s rich maritime history. Dating back 7,000 years to the early Native Americans, it’s become a major industry and continues to be a key economic driver. But there are few places in the state to explore that history. They hope to soon change that. But the Maritime Museum isn’t proposed along the shimmering waters of the Gulf of Mexico or Sarasota Bay, but five miles inland at Bobby Jones Golf Club. The board of the Gulf Coast Maritime Museum, a newly formed nonprofit, is slated to ask Sarasota city commissioners to OK a $1 lease agreement for up to two acres of the city-owned Bobby Jones Golf Course – a course already earmarked for a $15 million renovation project. Please click here for more on this story: Maritime Museum