But those aren't roses: The entrance to the country club at Rosedale. Staff photo / Harold Bubil.
Rosedale Golf Country Club near Lakewood Ranch is expanding. For the first time since its inception in 1994, the master-planned, gated community just east of Interstate 75 on S.R. 70 has invited three builders — Ashton Woods Homes, John Cannon Homes and M/I Homes — to join its development efforts.
Until now, all of the subdivisions and houses have been built by the Robert Hunt Group, which created the community and still owns the semi-private golf course.
The original Rosedale neighborhood consists of 652 residences ranging in size from 1,600 to 5,000 square feet.
It was built on land slated to become a trailer park until Robert Hunt, a Canadian developer who had long before realized the area’s growth potential (moving his divisional headquarters to Sarasota in 1977), envisioned a community that would offer luxury living and an active lifestyle in tranquil surroundings.
This streetscape in Rosedale reflects the manicured nature of the community. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 1-10-2013.
He bought the original 335 acres, purchased 200 more adjacent, enlisted renowned golf-course architect Ted McAnlis to design the 18-hole championship links and laid out a community consisting of 11 subdivisions, digging lakes and preserving much of the natural environment.
The picturesque, 80-foot, tree-lined boulevard at the entrance sets the tone for attractive landscaping and scenery throughout the community.
There are mature pines, live oaks adorned with Spanish moss, manicured green islands at road intersections and wooden bridges on which golf carts cross pristine wetlands. Williams Creek traverses greens and neighborhoods, creating a littoral zone that is home to a variety of wildlife, including otters, alligators, bobcats and birds.
The new sections to be built, starting this year, occupy 237 acres, which were acquired from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch. In addition to the infrastructure (electric and sewer lines), the developer has been digging several large lakes, which will be stocked with bass and tilapia.
The projected 445 new houses will bring the total number of homes in Rosedale to nearly 1,100.
This house at 5241 88th St. E. in Rosedale is listed at $ 434,900. On the golf course, it has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in 2,243 square feet. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 1-10-2013.
“We were going to add nine holes of golf and 300 homes, but golf courses are not doing well right now, so we went another way,” said Matt Bornstein, marketing and sales director for Rosedale Realty, which handles all property transactions in the community.
Three model homes on the edge of the new development display the options being offered by Rosedale, which will build 49 homes. They are patio houses with pools, hot tubs and outdoor grilling facilities, hurricane windows and doors. The garages have extra room for a golf cart.
“People love them for storage, even if they don’t play golf,” Bornstein said.
He and his wife have lived in Rosedale ever since he joined the company 17 years ago.
“We’ve become part of the fabric of the community,” he said.
New owners will have to purchase a social membership in the country club. The original residents were not required to do so, but many have taken advantage of a variety of memberships that provide access to the facilities.
Besides the golf course and practice putting green and driving range, they include five Har-Tru tennis courts, Bocci courts, a heated outdoor Junior Olympic-sized swimming pool, a fitness center and a 22,000-square-foot clubhouse with a restaurant and facilities for social events.
An avid golfer, Bornstein appreciates the active lifestyle in the community — people walking, jogging, riding bikes and taking their dogs for a stroll.
“In the mornings, they often walk three or four abreast in the middle of the street, as if they owned it,” he said with a smile.
Above all, he loves the close-knit atmosphere.
“The social life around the clubhouse is very strong,” he said. “People are very friendly — they wave at you as you drive past.”
He still remembers when Lakewood Ranch was mostly grazing land for cattle. Now, Rosedale’s residents — half snowbirds and half year-around retirees — can take advantage of all the amenities that have come with the expansion of Bradenton into east Manatee County.
A large public park next to the YMCA and the two buildings of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine are next-door neighbors to the east.
This house at 9616 53rd Terrace E. in Rosedale is listed at $ 480,000. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in 2,259 square feet. Staff photo / Harold Bubil.
The Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, shopping and restaurants at Main Street and Town Center are just one exit to the south on Interstate 75, not to mention the new mall going up on University Parkway.
According to Bornstein, the community has been solid and stable throughout the recent real estate upswing and downturn, with only a handful of foreclosures and short sales.
Inventory has been low.
In 2011, only 28 real estate transactions were made; this past year, it was 45, and one pending sale.
Currently, 27 properties are on the market, all of them houses, ranging in price from $249,000 to $668,000.
“Ten to 12 percent of the people living here have moved up and stayed in the community, which is a very good recapture rate,” Bornstein said.
