They are not making any more waterfront property, at least in Florida. But that doesn’t mean developers aren’t using the current market rebound to build upon some obscure shoreline parcels here and there.
Curry Creek in Nokomis. Short canals on each side of The Cottages of Curry Creek provide small-boat access to this waterway. STAFF PHOTO / HAROLD BUBIL
In Nokomis, Gary Johnson, president of Tivoli Homes, is excited that the roof is going up on the model home at The Cottages of Curry Creek — meaning that nearly three years of planning and preparatory work are finally coming to fruition. “We’ve been champing at the bit to get this development going, and we’re finally there,” he says.
The infrastructure is almost completed, too, with curbs in and the center road about to be asphalted. When built out over the next two years, the Cottages will be an upscale neighborhood of 12 semi-custom houses on a peninsula that extends into Curry Creek. Lots are a minimum of 80 by 125 feet in size — all of them at least 10,000 square feet.
“It’s a unique project,” Johnson comments. “Where else in South Florida can you find a development on the water that’s all new homes, not just a tear-down here or there?”
The electronically gated entrance will have decorative fencing and two landscaped traffic islands. The manmade canals on either side of the subdivision will provide each property with its own private dock and access to Curry Creek, and from there to Roberts Bay, the Venice Jetties and the Gulf of Mexico.
Located on Colonia Lane, three quarters of a mile east of U.S. 41, The Cottages is an enclave for boaters with small to medium-sized motorboats. “You have to go under the bridges for the Legacy Trail and the Tamiami Trail, so unless you have a retractable keel and mast, sailboats are out,” says Johnson.
A boating enthusiast himself, he has been testing the waters in a 22-foot motorboat, but he hasn’t tried fishing yet. “Our construction manager has, though,” he says, “and he’s caught some large snook there already.”
Supervisors and subcontractors discussion plans for the model home at The Cottages of Curry Creek in Nokomis. STAFF PHOTO / HAROLD BUBIL
Getting to the point where Tivoli Homes can start to sign up customers has been a cumbersome journey. “We didn’t anticipate that with a 12-home subdivision, we’d have to go through the same hoops as if we were putting up 100 or 200 homes,” says Johnson.
Along with acquiring the necessary permits, Johnson and his construction team removed exotic “nuisance plants,” such as Brazilian pepper trees from the waterfront, and got permission to trim the mangroves to make it possible to put in the docks.
They also have created a water course buffer around the perimeter so that storm drainage gets filtered through the two retention ponds at the entrance. Only in the event of a major tropical storm will water be released directly into the creek While many homes in neighboring subdivisions are still on wells, The Cottages of Curry Creek will hook into Sarasota County’s water and sewer system. To that end, Tivoli Homes has constructed a force main — a sewer line from the Cottages to a lift station at Albee Farm Road. “It runs a considerable distance and adds to the expense, but we didn’t want to do septic,” Johnson says.
The houses will be coastal cottage-style homes, constructed from concrete blocks with fiber-cement siding. Three different models will be available — with front porches, two-and three bedrooms, and two-car garages — ranging in size from 1,843 to 2,265 square feet under air.
Each home will have green features, including spray foam insulation and energy efficient water heaters. The insulated and impact-resistant windows will meet windstorm codes. The backs of the houses, facing the water, will have screen enclosures.
An unusual aspect of the development is that the property line reaches into the water: Buyers will own half of the canal bottom in back of their lots. “That’s how it was when the canals were dredged in the 1950s and ‘60s,” says Johnson. “You can’t do that anymore, but here they’re grandfathered in.”
Starting prices range from $459,900 to $499,900, and average building time will be about six months from closing.
“Now that we have the model up, we can get people to walk through the rooms by appointment,” Johnson explains. “It’s still a construction site, so for safety reasons, we don’t want to have people do it on their own.”
He adds, “We have promotional materials that show the plans and elevations, and prospective buyers can see for themselves what gorgeous views they will have.”
The location is near Captain Eddy’s Seafood Restaurant. Nokomis Beach and downtown Venice are within easy driving distance, and Osprey and Sarasota are only 20 or 30 minutes away, depending on the season.
“We are on the verge of taking orders,” says Johnson, pleased. “We have a handful of people that are interested already, so we expect things to move quickly when we start writing contracts.”
