Few people know Shakett Creek Pointe exists, but those who do admire its natural appeal.
"It's a beautiful setting, a unique enclave — charming, secluded," said Steve DuToit, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty, who has a listing at 719 Shakett Creek Drive. "I call it a seaside-style neighborhood."
Along the waterfront in Shakett Creek Pointe, Nokomis. (Staff photo / Harold Bubil)
The gated subdivision in Nokomis is located on a narrow peninsula between Shakett Creek and Dona Bay, just south of Laurel Road. It has 26 luxury homes, two and three stories tall, all in Key West-style design with metal roofs, Hardiplank siding and verandas. Every house comes with a deeded boat dock, and all but two have interior elevators.
Shakett Creek Pointe was developed from 2000 to 2007 by Terry Purdy, a contractor who has built numerous houses in the Venice-Nokomis area during his long career. Now retired, he lives in the model home he built there in 2001.
"It's quiet and peaceful here — a happy, beautiful place to be," he said.
He still recalls the negotiations with the county that resulted in more than half of the 14 acres — the southern portion of the peninsula — being set aside as a mangrove preserve. In return, the community can trim the abundant mangroves surrounding the boat docks to six feet above water.
"It was a three-year process, cutting them back gradually so they wouldn't be stressed," Purdy says. "Now they get trimmed every October."
As a result, the panoramic views, especially from third-floor patios, are spectacular — Dona Bay to the south, sunrises to the east. (FOR A GALLERY OF PHOTOS, CLICK ON THIS LINK.)
At the same time, there is teeming wildlife on and off the peninsula. A bald eagle nests in one of the tall Norfolk pines. It's not unusual to see dolphins and manatees frolicking in the creek.
For Dave and Kathie Bobish, living in Shakett Creek Pointe for the past six and a half years has been like a stay in paradise. Empty-nesters who wanted to downsize, they recently put their 3,909 square foot home on the market, listed by DuToit.
"I want a smaller house and a bigger boat," Dave Bobish said with a laugh.
They found the enclave when they rented a boat to look at another community to make sure it had boatable water.
"We went past this beautiful neighborhood and said, 'Whoa, nobody told us about this one,'" Dave recalled.
"So we met with Terry, and he built our home for us."
The Bobish family has annual blue crab feasts from the traps off their dock, and make ample use of their 22-foot motorboat.
"It's great being able to come home from a hard day's work, take some sandwiches for dinner, ride to the Gulf for a beautiful sunset, and it's not a big production," Kathie Bobish said.
The Venice jetties are only 15 minutes away, and the two bridges — U.S. 41 and the railroad trestle of the Legacy Trail — were both raised to 12-foot clearance, accommodating most motorboats up to 28 feet.
"We have Boston Whalers with twin engines come up here," Dave Bobish said.
An avid fisherman, he has caught redfish, snook, grouper and tarpon.
"You never know what you're going to get," he said. "Our neighbors pulled up a seahorse in their crab trap and put it in their saltwater aquarium."
Like the Bobishes, many of the other residents are working professionals with families — neighborhood children attend Laurel-Nokomis School, Venice High or Pine View. There are entrepreneurs and retirees, some from as far away as the United Kingdom. Most live there year-round. Only one of the places is a vacation home.
As a result, a community atmosphere prevails. Once a month during the winter, on a Friday night, residents go to one of the houses to socialize.
"By now we've had tours of all of each others' homes and know them inside out," Kathie Bobish said.
The Bobishes both have managerial jobs in the health care industry, and appreciate Shakett Creek Pointe's convenient location. For Kathie Bobish, it's less than 10 minutes to Interstate 75 in the morning, and then a quick jaunt to Clark Road. Dave Bobish works near Sarasota Memorial Hospital and has a 20- to 25-minute drive on Tamiami Trail.
Shakett Creek Pointe has taken some time to recover from the housing bubble. Million-dollar luxury homes came down in price considerably. In 2011, still experiencing the aftermath of the bust, four of the five real estate transactions were short sales. Sold prices ranged from $550,000 to $669,000.
Last year, there was one nondistressed sale, at $697,000. Four homes are on the market now, from $695,000 to $999,000.
"Prices have improved a little over the past two years," DuToit said, "but there still isn't anything quite like it at this price point in the waterfront communities."
