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About the Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice Area
BradentonLocated on the southern-most part of Tampa Bay, the Bradenton Area is a great place to explore historic attractions, fishing adventures, golf and shopping. Bisected by the Manatee River, the small city of Bradenton lies on the river's southern shore with the municipalities of Palmetto and Ellenton to the north.
In 1539 Hernando DeSoto, the Spanish conquistador, landed at the current site of DeSoto National Memorial and began his 4000 mile search for El Dorado, the lost city of gold. One of the next settlers who came to the area in the 1800's was Joseph Braden, a sugar planter for whom the city was named. The area remains a center of agriculture featuring tomatoes, cut flowers and home of Tropicana.Visitor's and residents can experience Florida's history at the South Florida Museum, visit Snooty the Manatee at Parker Aquarium, learn of the lost Indian tribes of Southwest Florida and explore 1200 year-old temple mounds at Emerson Point, see the oldest Antebellum Plantation House at Gamble Plantation or visit the Manatee Historical Village.
Shopping is also a preferred pastime in the Bradenton Area. Ellenton is home to the largest discount designer outlet in Southeastern US*Prime Outlet Mall. The beaches are full of fabulous boutiques and galleries and the outdoor and indoor markets of the Red Barn Flea Market offer many bargains.
| Longboat KeyLongboat Key is an exclusive twelve mile long barrier island located just south of Anna Maria Island and has only two bridges on either end for access. It has long been an enclave for those seeking relaxation and rejuvenation. The island offers picturesque expanses of beach and a wide selection of boutique properties. Full service resorts hotels and spacious rental homes and condominiums are all available.
The northern tip offers fine seafood and an outstanding view of Sarasota Bay. Additional dining adventures can be a rustic beach bar to fine restaurants with international reputations.A bike path stretches the length of the island or visitors can stroll past many resort properties, fishing marinas and tennis clubs which adorn Longboat Key.
| North PortNorth Port is one of Florida's largest little cities, with 77 square miles of land, an 8,000-acre state forest within its limits, and a population of 17,000 in season.
With the third-largest land mass for a city in the state, North Port is now the fourth fastest-growing municipality in the state and has a flourishing youth population. There are two elementary schools in the city. Middle and high school children are attending Venice Schools until a new middle/high school can be built. North Port presently accounts for nearly 80 percent of the growth in Sarasota County schools.
One reason for the growth in young families and low impact fees for affordable housing.
| SarasotaSarasota County, located on the West Coast of Florida, about 60 miles south of Tampa, encompasses an area of 573 square miles and includes the cities of Sarasota, Venice and North Port, town of Longboat Key and Englewood.
The county's approximately 600 square miles extend west from rustic ranch land to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. With more than 35 miles of gulf beaches, most Sarasota County residents are within a 15-minute drive of the most spectacular white sand beaches in the world.
QUICK FACTS
Location:
Florida's west coast between Tampa to the north and Ft. Myers to the south. Sarasota County is between Hillsborough County (north) and Charlotte County (south). Located on the Gulf of Mexico.
Areas of Interest:
Casey Key, Englewood, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Manasota Key, Nokomis, North Port, Osprey, Siesta Key, St. Armands Key, Venice.
Geography:
571.75 square miles of land area
35 miles of beachfront
Average Annual Air Temperature:
72.6 F (22.6 C) average annual air temperature
82.8 F (28.2 C) average annual high temperature
61.9 F (16.6 C) average annual low temperature
Monthly Air Temperatures: HIGH LOW
January 72.3 F (22.4 C) 50.0 F (10.0 C)
February 73.5 F (23.1 C) 51.1 F (10.6 C)
March 77.7 F (25.4 C) 55.7 F (13.2 C)
April 82.3 F (27.9 C) 59.3 F (15.2 C)
May 87.1 F (30.6 C) 64.8 F (18.2 C)
June 90.1 F (32.3 C) 70.5 F (21.4 C)
July 91.2 F (32.9 C) 72.2 F (22.3 C)
August 91.2 F (32.9 C) 72.6 F (22.6 C)
September 89.7 F (32.1 C) 71.6 F (22.0 C)
October 85.1 F (29.5 C) 64.9 F (18.3 C)
November 79.2 F (26.2 C) 57.7 F (14.3 C)
December 74.3 F (23.5 C) 52.0 F (11.1 C)
Population:
City of Sarasota: 52, 219 residents
City of Venice: 21,246 residents
City of North Port: 19,392 residents
Town of Longboat Key: 4,695 residents
Sarasota County: 228,348 residents
TOTAL: 325,900 residents
Major Access Roads:
Interstate 75 and US Highway 41 (North-South)
Airport:
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is located at the intersection of US 41 and University Parkway. (941) 359-5200
Mileage from FL Cities:
Miami: 223 miles (4 hours’ drive time)
Orlando: 129 miles (2 hours’ drive time)
Tampa: 57 miles (1 hour drive time)
Peak Season:
The area's peak season begins in February and continues until Easter, when accommodation reservations are necessary. The value season is June through September.
Accommodations:
A wide variety of accommodations are available, from camp grounds to luxury resort hotels. Rentals of privately owned condominiums and cottages are popular with tourists. Meeting space and facilities are available for groups at hotels and other locations around the community.
Arts & Cultural Community:
Sarasota is recognized as Florida's Cultural Coast and is home to a professional symphony, ballet and opera. In addition, more than 10 theaters and 30 art galleries are located in Sarasota. The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art is Florida's State Museum, and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, known for its architecture and great acoustics, seats 1,700 people and features a dazzling season of music, shows and programs for all ages.
Attractions:
From antique cars to a year-round spring with 87-degree waters, Sarasota has a variety of attractions appropriate for family enjoyment. Visitors to the area can visit Mote Marine Laboratory, G-WIZ (Gulfcoast Wonder & Imagination Zone), Historic Spanish Point, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota Jungle Gardens, Warm Mineral Springs, Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary, and more.
State Parks:
Myakka River State Park, with 28,875 acres of land, and Oscar Scherer State Park are Sarasota's destinations for bird-watching, biking, walking, camping or just communing with Florida's natural setting of swamps, palmetto brush and towering pine trees. Myakka State Park offers guided boat and train tours that include informative narration of the area's wildlife and history.
Golf:
Known as Florida's "Cradle of Golf," Sarasota was home to the first course in the state and one of America's first golf courses built in 1905 by Sir John Hamilton Gillespie, a Scottish colonist. The community's early ties to golf can still be found today at Bobby Jones Golf Complex. Designed by famed architect Donald Ross, the course opened on Sunday, February 13, 1927, and was personally dedicated by Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. In 1930, Bobby Jones won the "Grand Slam of Golf" by sweeping the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open; he is the only golfer ever to accomplish this feat. Today, Sarasota offers more than 1,000 holes at public, semi-private and private courses.
Piers, Marinas & Boat Ramps:
Fishing piers include the Englewood Public Fishing Pier, Ken Thompson Park Pier & New Pass Pier, Osprey Fishing Pier, Tony Saprito Pier, Turtle Beach Pier and Venice Fishing Pier. Choose from 15 area marinas and 12 public boat ramps.
Sarasota County Awards & Distinctions:
Expansion Management magazine chose the Sarasota-Bradenton area as the only community in Florida worthy of its Five Star Community ranking. For executives at companies looking to move or expand their businesses, Sarasota-Bradenton scored high for its "Quality of Life Quotient," judging crime levels, housing affordability and availability, education levels, cost of living, employment opportunities, continuing education opportunities and accessibility to air travel. Sarasota schools also received a BLUE RIBBON, the highest rating of any school system in the state.
Sarasota made it into the Top 20 on Employment Review’s "Top 20 Best Places to Live and Work" list, published in June 2000. The editorial staff looks at more than 300 cities comparing population, unemployment rates, cost of living and job opportunities for professionals on the move.
Entrepreneur magazine rated Sarasota-Bradenton the 6th best medium-sized city in the U.S. for small business, and the 8th best place in the south for entrepreneurs.
Money magazine placed Sarasota schools in the Top 100 in the nation as well as naming the Sarasota-Bradenton area as the 21st Best Place to Live in the U.S., and one of the Top 20 Places to Retire.
A New Business Opportunity Index developed by two professors in the College of Business Administration at the University of Texas at El Paso ranks Sarasota 7th among 316 metropolitan areas in the U.S. for a variety of key conditions that positively influence business climate.
Sarasota County’s Further Distinctions Include:
The Sarasota County region was ranked the number one market in the south for expansions and relocations by Southern Business & Development magazine.
Money magazine included the Sarasota County School District on the list of Top 100 Schools in the U.S.
Entrepreneur magazine placed Sarasota as the 6th best medium-sized city in the U.S.
Entrepreneur magazine also named Sarasota as the 8th Best City in the South (regardless of size).
Sarasota County has been ranked among the country’s best employment generators by DRI/McGraw Hill and the University of Arizona.
PC World and Money magazine named Sarasota as the 23rd best place for telecommuting (working from home).
Time magazine and Money magazine both named Sarasota’s New College as the 2nd Best College Bargain in the Country. New College outranked such schools as the University of California, Berkeley and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
The U.S. Housing Markets "Hotness Index" has ranked Sarasota 20th in the United States.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Sarasota/Bradenton ranked 3rd in the nation in job growth.
The Economist magazine ranked Sarasota 7th best for private sector job growth.
The Kiplinger letter reported a lifestyle study by management consulting firm Runzheimer International, showing "upscale" Sarasota 2% below the U.S. average cost.
| Siesta KeySiesta Key is a beautiful barrier island eight miles long just offshore of Sarasota, Florida. You will find it alive with tropical atmosphere, blessed with the world's finest, whitest beaches, filled with charming hideaways, and always offering plenty to do - but it is also a place to relax, and let the warm breezes, cool water and soft sand transport you to your personal paradise! Two bridges link the island to the mainland, allowing it to remain an uncomplicated natural paradise without sacrificing the amenities of contemporary life.
The north bridge, Siesta Drive, is within the City of Sarasota and provides convenient access to the city, its business and arts districts, and to the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport via US Highway 41. The south bridge, Stickney Point Road, provides access to south Sarasota County and a direct route to Interstate 75.
Siesta Key was first colonized in 1846. Population of the island had only grown to 300 by 1940 when it was primarily made up of fishing camps. Currently, 15,000 full time residents live on the island with another 18,000 "snowbirds" flocking here for the mild winter months. Residences range from small rental cottages to waterfront condos and custom private homes.The beaches of Siesta Key are world-renowned. The pure quartz, pulverized to a fine white powder, has a magical quality. There is no sand quite like Siesta's anywhere. They are also the island's centers of social activity - places to meet, to hold reunions, group picnics, even weddings - or just to stroll, bicycle or jog with friends.
There are two main shopping districts right on Siesta Key, each with a wide variety of shops that carry merchandise ranging from gifts and T-shirts to the finest haute couture to ice cream. Siesta Key Village is located on the northwest side of the Key about one block from the Gulf. The Siesta South Shopping area begins at the Stickney Point Bridge and goes south along Midnight Pass Road.
| VeniceVenice and its surrounding communities, including North Port, comprise a delightful area you'll enjoy getting to know better. Business, culture and natural beauty all await newcomers to this part of the Gulf Coast.
And of all Florida, the south county area stands out as one of the most desirable spots - not too "citified", still with much rural charm, yet with the facilities needed for comfortable living and a great place to open businesses and raise families.
Venice is one of the few cities on Florida's west coast that is not separated from the Gulf by a barrier island. Preserving the original character of Venice, the city created the Historic Venice District and an Architectural Review Board to ensure that new construction or modification of existing buildings conform to the northern Italian renaissance style of the city's original architecture. Designation as a Florida Main Street City by the state further assures that Venice's heritage will be preserved.
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Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice Area Map
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Equal Housing Opportunity. This material is based on information which we consider reliable, but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and should not be relied on as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice.