In the last twenty-five years, Lakewood Ranch has blossomed into what is now the 3rd best selling master-planned community in the United States. According to real estate consultant firm, RCLCO (who compiles this nationwide ranking) Lakewood Ranch has been consistently placed on the top of their list because they benefit from "high-quality [...]

State of the Market for Manatee, Charlotte, and Sarasota Counties - This time last year, the buzz surrounding Southwest Florida’s commercial real estate market focused almost solely on the opening of the Mall at University Town Center; and whether its pending debut would establish a new center of gravity for the region’s retail sector. [...]

With the Mall at University Town Center opening October 16^th, the excitement for the addition of 100 new stores and restaurants to the Sarasota area is so palpable, it can be cut with a sharp shopping bag. So, we polled part of the management team to find out which new boutiques or restaurants they can’t wait to visit. Check out their [...]

How does a hotel that hasn’t been built yet pay dividends to the region nearly two years before welcoming its first paying guests? Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota—the county’s lead tourism bureau—knows the answer.  Moments before joining other civic leaders at last week’s groundbreaking for the new Westin Sarasota [...]

“Look at your shopping centers.  Are they going down?  Or coming back?” With this simple query, Todd Mathes—the director of development for Benderson Development—prefaced his recent update on the retail market in Sarasota-Manatee before an audience of over 200 agents from [...]