A Siesta Key mansion just hit the market with a price tag of $15.95 million, the latest sign the luxury real estate market on the Gulf Coast continues to thrive.

Marketed by the Laughlin Tanner Group of Premier Sotheby’s, the Point Crisp Road property sits on a private peninsula on Little Sarasota Bay, making the location especially attractive. Like other Gulf Coast properties, agents had no problem posting a seven-figure listing.

“Siesta Key is a sought-after destination where superlatives are a way of life,” said Peter Laughlin, of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. “This home transcends island luxury; presenting a one-of-a-kind residential opportunity to wake up and live inspired every day.”

Just in January, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty listed another home for $22 million, the priciest home on the market at that time. A search of listings also shows Ocean Real Estate has a sale pending on a $16.95 million home on Higel Avenue. There is also a 6-bedroom coastal home on Sanderling Road listed at $16.8 million.

While listings and inventory are on the rise in the Sarasota market, it remains a seller’s market. The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee in February reported about 3.5 months of inventory. A balanced market typically means there are six months worth of inventory available.

The latest listing on Point Crist Road, built in 2001, features coastal contemporary architecture with an elevator and views from every room. It boasts 7,000 square feet of air conditioned space, including six en-suite bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms. Most of the rooms have balconies. The property has 546 feet of waterfront, as well as a heated spa, beach kayak launch, tiki hut gazebo, fire pit and boat dock.

It’s also a home designed for entertaining, with a gourmet kitchen and a climate-controlled wine room. Gathering spaces include a movie theater, fitness center and family room with French doors connecting to a covered patio and open balcony.

There have also been upgrades to the property including its security system, landscaping and limestone seawalls.

“The meticulously maintained landscape is enclosed for the utmost privacy so that the island lifestyle can be enjoyed to the fullest,” reads a release on the listing. 

Photo courtesy of Premier Sotheby’s.

The national law firm Shumaker is pleased to announce that Kristen Connelly has joined the firm as the Attorney Development Officer. She will utilize her more than two decades of legal and recruiting experience to promote the professional growth and success of the firm’s attorneys. Kristen’s primary focus is to guide associates as they develop into successful partners. Additionally, she will focus on initiatives related to the recruitment, development, and advancement of lawyers at all levels while working closely with firm leadership. Prior to joining Shumaker, Kristen spent more than 20 years practicing law at Toledo firms, where her primary focus was on defense of claims for professional negligence against physicians, nurses, hospitals, and nursing homes. She also counseled and represented clients in matters before the Ohio State Boards of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. In addition to her legal practice, Kristen served on the Recruitment Committees at her previous firms. 

The Otto Group, a wealth management firm that provides holistic and advanced planning solutions to a select group of families, individuals, and business owners, announced that Managing Director and Partner, Matthew J. Otto, has been named a 2023 Best-In-State Wealth Advisor Florida (Tampa Area) by Forbes for the sixth consecutive year (2018-2023). Otto holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) and Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designations. In addition, he holds the Series 7, 26, 31, 63, 66 and Florida Life, Health, and Variable licenses. He is a member of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) and the Suncoast Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA). The Forbes rankings were developed by SHOOK Research, which used an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data to rate thousands of advisors with a minimum of seven years of experience in the wealth management industry. The rankings were compiled through analysis of several key factors, including revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, and industry experience of more than 34,000 nominees; just over 7,300 made the final list. For more about The Otto Group, visit theottogroupathightower.com. 

Pictured: Matthew J. Otto of The Otto Group is a six-time Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor.

Last month 514,889 passengers traveled through the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, compared to 442,846 passengers in March 2022. This is a 16% increase and is the highest number of passengers for the month of March and for any month in the entire history of SRQ. The 12-month activity through March 2023 totals 4,048,419 passengers, a 10% increase compared to 3,684,977 passengers for the 12 months through March 2022. The first three months of calendar year 2023 has seen an18.5% increase in passenger traffic over the same period in 2022. “SRQ has reached a multitude of milestones this March. Not only can we celebrate a record half a million passengers in a single month and over 4 million passengers in the last 12 months, but also the groundbreaking of a new 5-gate terminal expansion. The continuation of record-breaking numbers demonstrates the need for expansion and represents a major shift in how SRQ is transforming to serve the needs of our fast-growing community. It has been our desire to provide travelers with multiple airlines and destinations to choose from for both leisure and business travel. With 11 airlines serving 55 nonstop destinations, we are excited to see both visitors and locals embrace the many air service choices now being offered from SRQ,” stated Rick Piccolo, President, CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. 

Residents at Del Webb BayView in Parrish can now enjoy the showpiece of their community as the active adult community celebrates the grand opening of its amenity campus on April 1, 2023. Prospective homebuyers can also enjoy exclusive access to the community’s amenities with a two-night stay through its Explore Del Webb BayView program. The highlight of Del Webb BayView’s amenity campus is the state-of-the-art 22,500-square-foot clubhouse, The Driftwood Club. This contemporary coastal-inspired clubhouse provides an exceptional meeting spot for residents with a host of indoor and outdoor gathering spaces and activity rooms, as well as state-of-the-art cardio, fitness, and movement rooms. The Driftwood Club features multipurpose spaces designed to be used for meetings, arts and crafts, games and cards, and so much more. A Demonstration Kitchen provides a full-sized professional teaching kitchen where regular classes will be offered.BayView residents can now enjoy the year-round Florida sunshine lounging in the resort-style pool with beach entry, hot tub, and resistance pool. There are several built-in shade structures around the pool when it’s time to escape the sun. Other outdoor amenities include multiple pickleball and tennis courts, shuffleboard, bocce courts, cornhole on shaded, artificial turf, walking trails, and a future community garden and outdoor amphitheater. In addition to the amenity campus, Del Webb BayView features the full-service Sailfish Grille, a private restaurant with full bar which opened to homeowners on April 1st. At completion, Del Webb BayView will feature 950 single-family homes and low-maintenance villas. All home designs feature open floor plans and flex rooms, ideal for use as a home office, craft room, or fitness studio, and covered lanais to enjoy the Florida lifestyle year-round. This distinctive community is just 30 minutes from downtown Sarasota, St. Petersburg, and Tampa, with easy access to I-75 and I-275. Award-winning Gulf Coast beaches are also just minutes away. Reservations to Explore Del Webb BayView are still available. This unique experience lets prospective homebuyers spend up to two nights in a fully-furnished home for $300 (plus tax)*. Guests receive access to the community’s amenities, bicycles, golf carts, and a personal VIP tour with a sales consultant. A complimentary meal voucher at The Sailfish Grill rounds out this unique homebuyer experience. For more information or to make an Experience Del Webb BayView reservation, visit www.delwebb.com/bayview or call (877) 847-8297.  

Summertime should be the best part of the year for our community’s students. Sadly, as many as 40,000 area children will need food this summer.

Nearly 50% of Sarasota County and 100% of DeSoto County students rely on free and reduced-cost meals at school. The summer months can be especially difficult for the children of families struggling to put food on the table, as they lose access to those meals as well as school pantries, which also provide nutritional assistance.

Since 2014, All Faiths Food Bank has worked to fill the summer “hunger gap” for students and their siblings through the Campaign Against Summer Hunger.

With a challenge match of $900,000 this year, all donations to the Campaign Against Summer Hunger made between April 1 – May 15 will be doubled. Gifts of any amount are appreciated and will help thousands of children.

Please visit allfaithsfoodbank.org to make a gift. 

Kitson & Partners has completed renovations at Babcock Ranch’s first recreational amenity building and unveiled a new name – Lake Timber Lodge, a rustic waterfront clubhouse with a swimming pool and gathering spaces for events, meetings and activities for residents. Renovations added poolside cabanas and a new screened porch at the lodge, formerly known as The Lakehouse. With iconic architecture accented by stone and exposed beams and a 25-foot indoor ceiling, the landmark has welcomed arriving residents, homebuyers and visitors since opening in early 2018 at Babcock Ranch, the nation’s No. 5 fastest-selling residential community in 2022. The building is located just past the Lake Babcock Drive bridge, once the town’s only entrance, and perched along Lake Timber near the Lake Timber neighborhood. “The lodge has created so many memories for our families as they’ve celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones,” said Syd Kitson, chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, developers of Babcock Ranch. “Kids and adults have formed lasting friendships around the pool, at resident events and during everyday interactions at the lodge. The screened porch elevates that experience as a place to meetup with friends and enjoy the birds and wildlife along the lake.”

The renovations were unveiled during a concert March 31 and a music workshop the following day. Inspired by the historic Cypress Lodge on neighboring Babcock Reserve, Lake Timber Lodge was built with structural insulated panels stronger than masonry and was the most energy-efficient building at Babcock Ranch, America’s first solar-powered town. Spanning 2,400 square feet, it offers a double-sided fireplace enjoyed from interior gathering spaces and by the zero-entry pool and lakefront sundeck. Additional amenities include barbecue grills and a playground. Inside, exposed beams tower above a catering kitchen, a comfortable living room featuring relaxed rustic-chic décor and TVs and expanses of windows and doors overlooking the lake and a nearby fishing dock.Encompassing 18,000 acres, Babcock Ranch is planned for 19,500 residences and about five million square feet of commercial space. Created by Kitson & Partners with the philosophy that smart growth and sustainability work hand in hand, half of Babcock Ranch’s town’s footprint is set aside as greenways, parks and expansive lakes, providing recreation and scenic backdrops for Babcock Ranch’s homes and the Founder’s Square downtown district.Babcock Ranch continues to explore higher environmental standards in homebuilding with the introduction of Innovation Way, a neighborhood with seven showcase homes serving as a testing ground and living laboratory. National homebuilders Lennar, Pulte Homes and D.R. Horton are evaluating the possibilities for a new wave of homebuilding solutions, implementing cutting-edge technology, new materials and construction practices to create the most energy-efficient, water-preserving and health-forward homes on the market. Florida Power & Light Company will analyze energy efficiency throughout the testing period. The town also offers homes from national and regional homebuilders, including D.R. Horton, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers, WCI and William Ryan Homes and custom homes by AR Homes by Arthur Rutenberg, Divco Custom Homes and Florida Lifestyle Homes. Christopher Alan Homes will also soon introduce new homes at Babcock Ranch. Midtown, Babcock Ranch’s exciting next development phase planned for a mixed-use town center, parks and village green, will feature six initial neighborhoods and dozens of new floor plans adding to the over 50 home designs already available. Homes range from 1,120 to more than 4,000 square feet with pricing from the upper-$200,000s to over $4 million. For more information about Southwest Florida’s new hometown, located just northeast of Fort Myers off Babcock Ranch Road/State Road 31, visit the Woodlea Hall Discovery Center at 42850 Crescent Loop in Babcock Ranch, call 877-709-6620, or visit www.BabcockRanch.com. 

Pictured: The newly renovated Babcock Ranch recreational building, Lake Timber Lodge, features a zero entry swimming pool, lakefront sundeck, flexible gathering room, catering kitchen and more.