Silver Oak combines natural beauty and upscale living like no other place in Palmer Ranch.
Like a golf-course community, half of its area — 115 of 230 acres — is dedicated to green space. But the space in this gated, upscale neighborhood is used for nature preserves, scenic lakes and ponds that provide a haven for birds and other wildlife.
The two entrances — one off Central Sarasota Parkway, the other off Honore Avenue — have divided roadways leading into the community and are beautifully landscaped. Stately palms and oaks, and lush foliage, abound throughout the neighborhood, which also has attractive paver sidewalks.
“It’s very tropical, like true Florida landscape,” said Alex Ley, a Realtor with Michael Saunders & Co. “There is mature growth, and the berms are very colorful, especially in the spring.”
Ley has lived in the community for the past five years and loves it for its quietness and sophisticated elegance.
“I think of it as one of the most prestigious communities in the area,” he said. “Everything is extremely well maintained and kept up.”
The three subdivisions in Silver Oaks, all accessible from an attractive roundabout inside the entrance off Central Sarasota Parkway, offer generously sized parcels as well as distinctive features.
The Enclave is a small cluster of 21 maintenance-free homes, arranged along both sides of a one-block street with a cul-de-sac at the end.
The Vineyards — also maintenance-free — consists of 77 Mediterranean-style villas with red barrel-tile roofs, built around a horseshoe-shaped lake. Residents can enjoy the clubhouse, fitness center and heated swimming pool.
The community had six models that buyers could customize to their needs, Ley said.
The Estates offers larger, custom-built luxury homes designed and constructed by some of Sarasota’s top builders, including John Cannon Homes, Todd Johnson Homes and Bamboo Homes. Architectural styles vary, from Georgian to Colonial, Mediterranean and French Provincial. All of the 179 homes back either onto lakes or nature preserves.
With such a diversity of residences comes a wide range of sizes and price points.
“The maintenance-free properties start around 2,000 square feet and go all the way up to 6,000 and 7,000 square feet in the Estates,” Ley said. “Prices range from the $400,000s to $1.5 million.”
Residents tend to be a mix of retirees, snowbirds and working professionals in their 50s and older.
“There aren’t a lot of families,” Ley said. “For them, Turtle Rock just to the north is more popular.”
Being part of Palmer Ranch, which, at 10,000 acres, is Sarasota County’s largest planned community, the residents can partake in a wide assortment of amenities. The sports-minded can join Prestancia and Stoneybrook next door for golf and tennis and enjoy the miles of nature and bike trails.
The pedestrian-and-bicycle Legacy Trail has an entrance a quarter-mile away on Central Sarasota Parkway, and the YMCA at Potter Park is not much farther.
Numerous shopping, restaurant and entertainment opportunities are within easy driving distance, from Costco and movie theaters at the Sarasota Square Mall to grocery stores, banks and other shops and eating establishments along the Tamiami Trail.
Siesta Key, with its renowned beaches, is just 15 minutes by car, and there is easy access to Interstate 75 via Honore Avenue and Clark Road in the other direction.
Annual homeowner fees of $2,275 cover the guard house, which is staffed 24/7, and the maintenance of interior roads, common areas, lakes and preserves.
Fees are higher in the maintenance-free sections, but still quite reasonable. The Vineyard’s dues, for example, are only $1,305 per quarter and include the clubhouse and swimming pool, as well as regular painting of homes and pressure washing of roofs.
The Enclave has seen no real estate activity over the past 180 days. The Vineyards and Estates, however, have had two and 10 transactions, respectively, in that time.
The Vineyards has four active listings, ranging from $578,000 to $799,000.
“They are 2,400 square feet and more,” Ley said. “If they were one of the smaller homes, their price would not be as high.”
The 10 homes on the market in The Estates are listed from $649,000 to $1.5 million. One of the properties is under contract.
“Silver Oak is a phenomenal neighborhood,” Ley said. “In my opinion, if you’re not looking for a golf course community, it’s the best community in Palmer Ranch.”
