A Hometown Sarasota Holiday

Isn't this time of year simply the best? Cold, sloppy and wet, less and less daylight, dead leaves everywhere, can't play golf after work, etc. Oops, wait…those are the reasons you should live in Sarasota, Florida! I have lived in Sarasota all my life and have seen many winters come and go, and yes, we do celebrate the holidays just like our northern friends. Almost.

Many from the North think Floridians miss out on all the fun of the holidays.  A lack of snow in our forecast here in Sarasota doesn’t mean we won’t be able to have a “white holiday”.  We enjoy the white sands of our wonderful beaches in December as easily as we do in June. Frosty the Snowman will not come to life in any Florida yard. We take great pride in lighting our palm trees and setting up fiber optic sleighs pulled by holiday hat clad alligators and flamingos. (It’s not tacky at all). Our homes may not have stockings hung by the chimney, although wet bathing suits and towels are often strung across the lanai with great care.

Even if you are living in a cave, you couldn't miss the radiant glow of all the Sarasota neighborhoods shimmering with bright lights around town…and on boats! Pine trees are trucked in from up north and sold in red and white tents along the roads. The Salvation Army volunteers ring bells and take donations. Shoppers hustle through the malls and stores spending more than necessary. But, these things are all done while we are wearing shorts and flip flops.  Just another day in Paradise!

Some folks turn the air conditioning down as far as it will go, (I have been known to do that at my wife’s request) to get the house cool enough to light a fire in the fireplace. (The local grocery stores carry firewood.) Others go all out with lights and decorations all around the house, the same as up north. Cookies are baked, hams and turkeys are roasted, and families manage to connect, even if it is across the phone and internet lines. The holidays are still special no matter where you are. So, to all those contemplating joining us in the Sunshine State, come on down and buy a home in Sarasota…you will not regret your move. You will soon make new friends, start new traditions and enjoy the Holidays in a new way.  The holidays are the holidays no matter what part of the country you happen to be in, but if you have yet to experience a uniquely Florida holiday, I encourage you to come and visit. Grab your sandals and come on down. And I am confident that you will fall in love with Sarasota and want to buy a house! And when you do, I'm your Hometown Sarasota Realtor!

This holiday season, I am especially grateful for all my clients and friends! Thank you for your trust, business, referrals and friendship.  Thank you for letting me help you with these life transitions.  I wish you happiness and peace during this holiday season and in the year ahead. 

Getting a Building Permit at Marina Jack's?!

Before I went away to college at the University of Florida and subsequently went into the Air Force, I worked with my dad. I got a great education from him. He was a builder in Sarasota in the 1950’s and 60’s. He built one spec house at a time, sold it and began another. At first, I helped with all of the menial tasks that an apprentice in the construction/carpentry trades would encounter in a craft/apprentice environment. The mindset of this arrangement was to ensure a full and comprehensive knowledge in training to be a craftsman. It was a carryover from my grandfather, who was a German trained master cabinet maker. While certainly not fun at first, I did learn the construction trade in depth and this valuable knowledge has aided me in my profession as a Real Estate agent in Sarasota, Florida.

I started learning the building trades the summer of my 12^th year and I clearly remember going with my dad down to the foot of Main Street where The City Pier, which housed Sarasota County Building Department was at that time, to get permits. In those days, believe it or not, the building department was right where Marina Jack’s is now!  And getting a permit was much different in those days. Dad knew everyone in the Building Department and we would just walk in, chat for a few minutes and walk out with our permit.

The City Pier has quite a history. It was one of the first projects undertaken when the colonists arrived in the Sarasota area from Scotland in late December 1885. The only way to travel between Sarasota and points north was by boat, and without a docking facility, the young community would be isolated from its neighbors and the rest of the world. This pier was once home to the Hoover Arcade, the City Fire Department and City Hall. At one time, it also housed Dave Broadway’s Oyster Café, an ice cream parlor, the Lyric Theater and various other offices. In 1948, the building was devoted entirely to City Hall.

Until 1967, the city's business continued to be conducted in the old Hover Arcade at the foot of lower Main Street, with its inviting archway onto the city pier as it had since 1917. The city manager, Ken Thompson, hired in 1950 was still at the helm guiding Sarasota through these transitional years. From 1917 until 1967 when it was razed, the iconic building became an enduring symbol of Sarasota and one of my favorite boyhood memories.

The entire Sarasota Bayfront began taking on an upscale appearance with the construction of Marina Mar at the City Pier site, known today as Marina Jack. It was built to put “Sarasota on the yachtsman's map” along with the addition of Island Park. Within a short period construction began and was completed in 1965. Marina Mar sold to Jack Graham and Jack Anderson, and the name was changed to Marina Jack. The complex had 110 boat slips, and could berth vessels up to 65 feet long. The marina was the only one between St. Petersburg and Boca Grande that was capable of handling the larger vessels. The restaurant afforded diners panoramic view of the downtown skyline westward to Bird Key, which it still does today.

There are many beautiful residences of all kinds near and around our iconic Bayfront, so if you are looking for a home in Sarasota, let’s meet at Marina Jack and I will share some wonderful stories about My Home Town and help you find your dream home.

Credits: The Sarasota Historical Society , The Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jeff LaHurd, Sarasota Magazine, Sarasota History Alive

The Ritz Carlton Ghost Hotel

One of my early memories of ‘luxury’ in Sarasota is about a building that never happened – the “Ghost Hotel” on Longboat Key. We now have many First Class hotels in Sarasota, but in the 1920’s, this never-completed structure was to be one of the few luxury hotels in the area. John Ringling conceived the idea to build a Ritz-Carlton on the south end of Longboat Key to draw visitors to what he called ‘the finest in the State of Florida” It was to have 200 rooms, dock facilities, and a railroad line that would bring passengers right to the hotel, along with an 18-hole golf course paid for by local subscriptions, built on adjoining land. But…it turned out to be a far cry from today’s Ritz-Carlton in downtown Sarasota!

By November 1926, the first of the hotel's three units was nearly complete when Ringling gave the stop work order. Ringling continued to state that he would resume construction on the hotel. But as the hotel neared completion, the Florida land boom bubble burst, and Ringling’s huge holdings that included real estate, banks and circuses began to rapidly dwindle. Some estimates state that as much as $650,000 was spent on the unfinished hotel. In 1959, the Arvida Corporation purchased the land from John Ringling North with plans to develop Bird Key and Longboat Key.

By the early 60's, the old unfinished Ritz-Carlton was called a "fortress." When I was in high school, my boyhood friends and I would frequently go out there to explore, climbing the old brick and mortar walls, which were between 16 and 20 inches thick. It’s a good thing our parents didn’t know. According to Sarasota County historian Jeff LaHurd, as many as eight people fell to their deaths in the abandoned hotel. Visitors would later claim to have seen the ghost of a Sarasota High School student, who was one of those teens who died in the hotel, calling out the names of his friends. After that death in 1954, officials placed a steel fence around the building. But it didn’t keep the trespassers away, myself included.

Today, my memories live on and Ringling's idea lives on as the land he once owned is now the Longboat Key Club resort and we have a beautiful Ritz Carlton as one of the crown jewels on Sarasota Bay.

If you are looking for a luxury property in Sarasota, Florida, give me a call at 941-315-1185 and I will help you find your dream home…and tell you some stories of life in Sarasota ‘back in the day’!

Here's a cool video about The Ghost Hotel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqRkNFQtUfU

Credits: Sarasota History Alive, The Observer, Jeff LaHurd