Florida West Properties | Sarasota, Florida | Real Estate

The Sarasota Area:

Come ... A Seaside Paradise Awaits.
Welcome to Sarasota ... sophisticated yet laid-back, elegant, fun-loving and dedicated to the arts.

A beautiful bay awaits where resident dolphins play and swaying palm trees line quiet streets leading to diversions of live theater, world-class shopping and the white sandy beaches of sun-drenched islands that stretch along the sea-green Gulf of Mexico. On these islands, it's a Sarasota tradition to arrive for sunset a bit early for evening walks or just to relax on beach towels. Others gather to practice juggling, ride unicycles or strum guitars. All celebrate our unexcelled views of a Matisse-bright sun melting into the sea.

Because each of the islands, as well as the mainland, sports its own distinct personality, the Sarasota area offers more vacation variety than you've ever dreamed.

Located on Florida's Central Gulf coast, Sarasota is a paradise for both seasonal and year-round residents. Soft, powdery white sand beaches, world-class shopping and dining, five star resorts, country clubs of distinction and community events coupled with the area's natural beauty and a year-round average temperature in the comfortable mid-70's are but a few of the reasons why Sarasota ranks amoung Money Magazine's 15 most liveable communities in the country.

The county's high per capita income supports a wide variety of recreational activities and cultural venues, including theatre, ballet, opera and film festivals. In fact, Southern Living magazine recently named Sarasota County "the nation's arts capital." If you are more the athletic type, outdoor activities are plentiful as well; everything from shelling, rollerblading, tennis and golf to walking the beach at sunset.

Sarasota has all the charm of a southern town with the conveniences of a big city. The southern town atmosphere exists thanks to the diligence of our Sarasota residents and community developers. Waterfront estates and new golf course condominium communities are designed to complement our historic districts and neighborhoods which are preserved with pride.

Sarasota's public schools serve more than 36,0000 students. With 20 elementary, 8 middle and 9 high schools, Saraota County provides educational opportunities for all -- from the physically challenged to the academically gifted. The area is also home to private schools of various affiliations. Sarasota teachers are top-ranked; nearly 80% have post-bachelor degree training. Two-thirds of the county's high school graduates go on to college; some at our six local higher education institutions; University of South Florida at Sarasota, New College (USF's honors program), Ringling School of Art and Design, University of Sarasota, Eckerd College and Manatee Community College.

Sarasota History:

How it all began...

Sarasota first became a "modern" town in the 1880s when the town was promoted in Scotland by the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company in 1885. It was a breath of fresh air, promising an abundance of fertile land, plentiful citrus groves and affordable housing. Scottish families looking for a new start boarded steamer ships and set sail for Sarasota. Unfortunately, upon their arrival, the town was little more than a frontier camp. Needless to say, most of them left. But among the hardy souls who stayed to complete their dream was John Hamilton Gillespie, a Scottish aristocrat, lawyer and member of the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland. It was this man who is believed to have built America's first golf course, right here in Sarasota. Quite an entrepreneur, Mr. Gillespie also built the upscale DeSoto Hotel on Main Street for tourists and prospective investors. For his efforts, he was later elected as Sarasota's first mayor in 1902.

Early on, a Paradise for the Pampered
As early as the 1910s, Sarasota began attracting some of America's most wealthy, who, with their own style, helped to define the county of Sarasota. Today's Historic Spanish Point was once the posh waterfront winter estate and gardens of Bertha Palmer, widow of Chicago developer Potter Palmer. That's not all -- what is now Myakka River State Park was once Palmer's 30,000-acre ranch in eastern Sarasota, called Meadowsweet Pastures.

Sarasota - the Circus Town

John Ringling, of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, made his mark on the community with much more flair. Not only did he and his wife, Mable, build a magnificent Venetian-style mansion on Sarasota Bay, named Cà d'Zan (house of John), but they went a few steps further in positioning Sarasota as "Florida's Cultural Coast." John and Mable needed a place to house their ever-growing collection of works by Peter Paul Reubens and other masters of 17th-century Italian and Flemish art. We know that collection today as the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, one of America's most famous art museums.

Ringling's influence didn't stop there. As a developer and dreamer, Ringling used his circus elephants to help build the first bridge from the mainland to St. Armands Key, which he developed as a commercial and residential center. In 1927, the circus' winter quarters were moved to Sarasota -- branding the area as a "circus town."