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.
If you live in Sarasota and have preschool age children, you might want to look into Discovery Days Preschool. Admittedly, we at Laurel Park Management are biased—Discovery Days is owned and run by LPM owner and operator Devin Rutkowski’s wife, Marian—but Discovery Days really does offer a little piece of heaven for the little ones (and more than a little peace of mind for the big ones). If you don’t believe us, go check it out for yourself!
Located in downtown Sarasota’s historic Laurel Park neighborhood at 1773 Morrill Street, Discovery Days Preschool offers a quality education in a safe and nurturing environment. Established in 1992, Discovery Days is set in a small, private, 1930s school house. Discovery Days is nationally accredited, and offers limited class sizes led by skilled and caring teachers.
It’s flat, the weather is amazing, it has plenty of public bike racks…so why aren’t more Sarasotans riding bikes? Bicycles can play a huge role in the livability of a place. They provide mobility to citizens of all ages and income, keep people fit, promote social connections, and don’t require a drop of gasoline. Cities and towns around the world are realizing that the more their people are on bikes the healthier, happier, and safer they’ll be. Research even confirms that cities that prioritize bikes reap economic benefits.
The oil vigil held in Ken Thompson park earlier this month was a great success, connecting Sarasota with hundreds of other communities around the country in support of clean energy. We here in Laurel Park and the rest of Sarasota are fortunate to have year round access to white sand beaches and turquoise waters. The deepwater horizon tragedy has reminded us all how fragile these gifts really are.
If you’re new to the Whole Foods experience or simply looking to bone up on healthy living skills, the Whole Foods Market Summer Tour Series provides great tips at the perfect price—free! Laurel Park residents can walk or bike to WFM, located at 1st and Lemon in downtown Sarasota.
Sure, Laurel Park is a historic neighborhood known for its restored Arts & Crafts and Florida Cracker cottages and its proximity to Main Street and downtown Sarasota—not to mention Burns Square and the Sarasota Bayfront. And sure, as the epicenter of Florida’s cultural coast Sarasota is well known for its fine arts. But did you know that Laurel Park also boasts one of the best comics and gaming shops you’ll ever find? The Dark Side, located at 408 S. Washington Boulevard (in a small plaza alongside a yoga studio and barber shop, among several others) is both a comic book shop and the home of Sarasota’s biggest gaming community.
“Our dog hates going to the vet, always has,” says Laurel Park resident Josh Grigsby. “But sometimes when we’re out for a walk she’ll insist on going to see Dr. Gary.” Dr. Gary Reinhardt of Vet Center Sarasota isn’t your run of the mill veterinarian. I swear he can speak dog, cat, bird, ferret, whatever. A multilingual pet whisperer and healer rolled into one. And for 25 years, Sarasota’s pet population has been the beneficiary.
Enjoy a Sunday afternoon of great music and good people when the Suncoast Concert Band or Jazz Ambassadors Big Band play at Payne Park. Concerts cost five bucks, payable at the door, with refreshments provided for a dollar each. All concerts are presented in a casual atmosphere, with open seating. Two performances remain in the spring schedule: April 25th and May 9th, both at 3pm. Laurel Park Management encourages all residents to get out there and enjoy everything Payne Park has to offer.
Sarasota is many things to many people: a retirement community, an arts town, home to some of the best beaches anywhere. But a local movement is afoot that might just put Sarasota on the map as, of all things, a college town. New College of Florida is regularly ranked one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Ringling College of Art + Design has renowned animation and graphic design programs. East-West College trains students to become doctors of Eastern medicine. State College of Florida, formerly Manatee Community College, offers a vast array of affordable courses and programs that round out the local educational menu. Oh, and the Asolo Performing Arts Center is also home to Florida State University’s graduate theater arts program. This extraordinary post-secondary diversity has been gradually coalescing, and while I’m not sure any studies have been done to verify this, one gets the sense that more and more high school and college students and recent grads are deciding to stay in sunny Sarasota and put their stamp on the place.
Sailor Circus now in its sixth decade of operation has grown from a small high school gymnastics class in 1949 to the present spectacular 4 ring youth circus production known world wide as the Greatest “Little” Show on Earth. Students from the 4th through 12th grades in Sarasota and surrounding counties have an opportunity to experience the performing arts in a circus atmosphere. Our dedicated students practice 20 – 30 hours a week and are trained by volunteer coaches who are retired circus performers, sailor circus alumni and enthusiastic parents. More than 200 volunteers donating over 25,000 hours of their time each season to PAL Sailor Circus demonstrates strong community involvement.
