Looking for options for ringing in the New Year? Come celebrate in downtown Sarasota as the city of Sarasota begins its 98th year! Presented by the Downtown Sarasota Alliance, the Downtown New Year's Eve Block Party is a great place to meet your neighbors, bring the...
photo source It isn't difficult to get behind the local food movement. Who can argue with cutting big agriculture out of the picture, reducing the cost and carbon footprint of transportation, or keeping more money in the local economy? Who doesn't like their food...
photo source Along with air, water is the most important resource on planet Earth. You'd think something so important would be treated like gold, but think about how much is lost through running hoses and faucets, leaks, and inefficient washing machines. We can do...
photo source Have you visited your friendly local liberal arts college lately? New College of Florida, located just off Tamiami Trail near Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, and within an easy bike, bus, or car ride from Laurel Park, hosts a large variety of events open to...
photo source Found this article from the Pelican Press on Dan Giguere, who we mentioned in the last post, and the future of the Payne Park Skate Park. We at Laurel Park Management think that Payne Park as a whole and the Skate Park in particular have been...
Looking for a place to live near downtown Sarasota? Afraid your budget will force you to choose between the charm of a historic building and being able to walk to Main Street? Why not have it all? Laurel Park Management rents a variety of unique affordable apartments—many in historic homes and buildings—all within walking distance of Main Street, the Bayfront, Whole Foods, and everything downtown Sarasota has to offer.
Today, we’re featuring one of a handful of Laurel Park’s “Grand” historic structures that dates back to the early 1920s. Seven Gables is the beautiful yellow home at 405 South Osprey Avenue. Originally constructed for a wealthy doctor, the house has since been divided into five apartments with ten off street parking spaces. Its name name is derived from the seven gable roof dormers built within the roof line and accessible from the second floor apartments. see property page for more pictures
If you live in Laurel Park, chances are good you’ve seen downtown Sarasota’s new police headquarters being built between Ringling Boulevard and the north end of Payne Park. What could have been another monstrosity inspired by strip malls has fortunately turned into something quite special. The architectural firm in charge of the project incorporated both elements of the celebrated Sarasota School of Architecture and enough green features to seek LEED certification. To top it off, final negotiations are underway to install a 40-foot remnant from floors 90-92 of the World Trade Center—a fitting tribute to and stark reminder of the dangers policemen and women can encounter.
There are just those days when all you want to do is have a drink with some friends, eat some fresh fish, and watch the sun sink into the ocean while a steel drum band taps out a friendly rhythm. Thankfully, you don’t need to go to Kokomo or even Key West to get away from it all. Nestled on the southern edge of Island Park just a stone’s throw from Marina Jack, O’Leary’s Bar & Grille is Sarasota’s local tiki-hut ticket to paradise, a favorite haunt of residents and visitors alike.
On the heels of last week’s post about Gillespie Park, we’d like to share an article on the area from SRQ Magazine. Downtown Sarasota—including Main Street, Laurel Park, Gillespie Park, the Rosemary District, and all the surrounding neighborhoods—has been in flux for decades. After it boomed it busted, and just twenty years ago it seemed our deserted downtown core might be down for the count. But a number of determined locals refused to let it die, and downtown Sarasota today is a beautiful (and increasingly bustling) place to live, work, and play.
We at LPM understand that change of any sort is never easy, and that all too often changes in neighborhoods (particularly when made by developers) pave the way for gentrification and price out the very people who remained committed to those neighborhoods through the tough times. Change of this sort can line the pockets of a few, but it rarely makes a neighborhood a truly better place.
That said, change is inevitable, everywhere and always, and can be a tremendously positive thing. After all, it wasn’t long ago that our charming Historic Laurel Park neighborhood was less than savory. Gillespie Park and the Rosemary District are vital downtown neighborhoods with their own distinct mix of characteristics and their own distinct futures. Just imagine what they can be—not as imitations of Laurel Park, but as the best and most fully realized versions of themselves!
This blog focuses on the Laurel Park neighborhood—we are Laurel Park Management, after all—but more than a little attention should also be paid to our neighbor to the north, Gillespie Park. Gillespie is a funky, diverse, and affordable historic neighborhood featuring many beautiful old Florida homes. LPM has several rental properties in this often overlooked area.
