Longboat Key Real Estate
Although Longboat Key real estate is most commonly thought of for high-end properties, it does present something for everyone. Stately condominiums and grand estate homes punctuate the skyline along the sparkling white sand beach front while single family home communities, modest apartments and garden units cluster mainly along the bay side, with views of the city at sunrise a spectacular bonus. The private Longboat Key Club consist of luxury homes, designer condominiums, and carriage homes and boasts two championship golf courses along with an energetic tennis center. It encompasses the entire southern terminus of the Longboat Key real estate.
Offering many choices of activities and environment, Longboat Key real estate is home to roughly 8,000 year-round residents. This number nearly triples during peak tourist season, Thanksgiving through Easter. The year-round average temperature is 73 degrees, perfect for fishing, boating, biking, golf, tennis, hiking, or just enjoying the tropical flora and fauna. Several Sarasota community activities, such as a regional triathlon, have added to Longboat Key’s fame in recent years. There are plenty of fine restaurants and shopping areas on the Key, and access to the mainland is a simple drive across the John Ringling Causeway to Sarasota and beyond.
The longest (11 miles) and arguable the grandest of the west Florida keys, Longboat Key real estate glistens along either side of Gulf of Mexico Drive, stretching from Tampa Bay south to New Pass. Longboat Key was the vacation land of the Timucuan and Caloosa Indians for hundreds of years. Their excavated ceremonial shell mounds are evidence of a lively society of fishermen, trappers and traders.
When Hernando DeSoto visited here in 1539, he was believed to have used a “longboat” to navigate through the north pass, thus giving the spit of land its name. Although development began on the key in the early 1900’s, and was spurred by John Ringling’s purchase of great sections in the 1920’s, The Town of Longboat Key was not incorporated until November 14, 1955.
Longboat Key is an offshore barrier island running roughly north to south and enclosing the western boundary of Sarasota Bay in Southwest Florida. The island’s eastern shoreline has dense mangroves except where canals have been dredged and marinas built. The western shoreline consists of a white sand beach on the Gulf of Mexico. On both the north and south ends, Longboat Key is separated from neighboring islands by deep water passes from the Gulf to Sarasota Bay. St. Armands Key and Lido Key lie just south of Longboat Key and West of Sarasota. Lido Key is bordered by Sarasota Bay on the East and by the Gulf of Mexico on the West. St. Armands Key is surrounded by Lido Key on the West and Sarasota Bay on the East. Longboat Key, Lido Key and St. Armands Key are directly connected to each other by bridges.
Government
Longboat Key lies in two counties- Manatee on the northern half and Sarasota on the southern half. The island was incorporated as a township in 1955 and is governed by a seven member Town Commission, each serving a two-year term.
