East County and Lakewood Ranch
Lakewood Ranch
Manatee and Sarasota Counties, Florida
Lake Nona, Orlando · Photo Angiesbc, via Wikimedia Commons · Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0
Lakewood Ranch is a master planned development east of Interstate 75 that spans the Manatee and Sarasota county line, and it has been among the top selling planned communities in the country for years running. It is not a neighborhood so much as a collection of dozens of them, each with its own builder, price point, and association.
Almost everything here was built after 1995, which means current construction standards, newer roofs, and homes that insure more easily than older coastal stock. The tradeoff is distance from the water and the assessments that pay for the amenities.
- To the Beach
- About 35 to 45 minutes
- What Was Built Here
- New construction, Mediterranean and coastal transitional, villas
The Details
What defines Lakewood Ranch.
- Dozens of separate villages, each with its own builder and association
- Waterside Place and Main Street as the commercial and dining cores
- Over 150 miles of trails and a large amount of preserved open space
- CDD assessments on most villages, paid through the property tax bill
- Construction almost entirely post 1995, built to modern codes
Questions
What people ask me about Lakewood Ranch.
What is a CDD and how is it different from an HOA?
A Community Development District is a special taxing district that financed the infrastructure of the community, meaning the roads, utilities, and amenities. You repay it through an assessment on your annual property tax bill, separate from and in addition to HOA dues. It can run well over a thousand dollars a year. Some villages have paid theirs off and some have decades left, so it is one of the first numbers I pull on any Lakewood Ranch property.
Is it really in two counties?
Yes. The community straddles the Manatee and Sarasota county line, and the county a parcel sits in determines its property tax rate, its school assignment, and which county government you deal with. Buyers regularly assume the whole community is one or the other. It is worth confirming for any specific address.
How far is it to the beach from Lakewood Ranch?
Realistically thirty five to forty five minutes to Anna Maria Island or Siesta Key depending on where in the community you are and what season it is. That is the honest tradeoff for newer construction and the amenities. People who want to be at the water regularly tend to weigh that drive carefully.
Nearby