Sarasota is either a big town or a small city, depending I guess on how you define the terms, but it certainly isn't a metropolis. Which, of course, is one of the things we like about it. Something else we like about it is its impressive architectural heritage, one...
I ♥ SRQ: The Perfect Saturday Morning
The morning sun wakes me. It is warm but no longer carries the burn of summer; the orange light is pleasant, inviting. I wake gradually, as does the dog. The cat is stretched out on the wood floor in a bath of warm light. He half opens a single eye to watch me walk...
Sustainable Sarasota: Sell a Car, Buy a Bike (part two)
A couple weeks ago I posted about merits of replacing a second car (or even a first car) with a bicycle. Bicycles are big right now in the worlds of urban planning and placemaking, for many good reasons. As mentioned before: bikes are affordable, they don't add to...
Sustainable Sarasota: Sell a Car, Buy a Bike (part one)
{image source} Anyone who's read this blog from its inception knows that we at Laurel Park Management are big supporters of bicycles and the folks who ride them. To clear up a quick issue of nomenclature, I tend to use cycling when I mean higher speeds, longer...
“Very Walkable” Laurel Park receives an 85 from Walk Score
{image source} Walkscore.com, the top online evaluator of a neighborhood's walkability, has given Laurel Park a rating of 85 out of 100, good for 3rd place (mere percentage points behind downtown and the Rosemary District) among Sarasota's 31 ranked...
Featured Property: Gillespie Park
Our latest featured property is actually multiple properties, all of which are located a short walk or bike ride north of Main Street, toward Ringling College of Art + Design and New College of Florida, and close to the Rosemary District. And you thought Laurel Park...
New Year’s Eve in Downtown Sarasota
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...
Events Alert: 3 Not-to-be-missed happenings at New College
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...
Featured Property: Seven Gables
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
Sarasota’s Evolving Downtown North: A Follow-Up
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!