Long-Awaited Waterside Lakewood Ranch Community in Sarasota to start construction Early 2016

According to an article from today in the Bradenton Herald Tribune by East Manatee Reporter James A. Jones Jr., Waterside, previously known as the Villages of Lakewood Ranch South, will be built on about 2,000 acres just south of the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park, Sarasota Polo Club and The Lake Club. All of the property is south of University Parkway.

Waterside will eventually have 5,144 residential units and 400,000-square-feet of commercial and retail space. Schroeder-Manatee Ranch will build the community on its Sarasota County property south of University Parkway.

At its heart will be a town center of shops, restaurants, and apartments located on a 6,200-foot long lake, the largest of about seven lakes in Waterside. All of the lakes were made by SMR’s mining operation.

Jones of the Bradenton Herald goes on to write that the community is expected to have a traditional feel, with a dense urban core with metal roof buildings, and an abundance of waterfront restaurants and shops, served by water taxis. There will be water taxis powered by electric motors, and no boats with internal combustion engines will be allowed to prevent contamination of the lakes.

Part of Sarasota County’s 2050 plan, Waterside will have 12 neighborhoods, and 2,037 workforce housing units distributed throughout the new community.

With the recent road construction that began after arrival of the new UTC Mall, Lakewood Ranch residents will be happy to know that before any rooftops go up, SMR will build all of the infrastructure to serve the new community, including roads, sewer and stormwater.

Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, which now stops at the Corporate Park, will be 4-laned to Fruitville Road. Lorraine Road, which now ends near the Sarasota Polo Club, will also be 4-laned to Fruitville Road.

Deer Road, which serves The Out-of-Door Academy, will be extended south to the planned town center, and west to Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. The Deer Road extension will also be 4 lanes. In all, 9 miles of new 4-lane roads will be built in Waterside, with completion planned for the second quarter of 2017.

In addition to the other work, SMR will also be building a pedestrian and bicycle friendly 4-lane bridge over I-75 from its Sarasota County property, landing at Cattleman Road and Benderson Park. Finally, there will be a 2-lane connector road running east-west along the southern boundary of Waterside to connect its 12 neighborhoods.

According to Jones’ article, SMR pledged back in 2001 that it would complete a “community rather than an enclave.” Waterside will break ground in early 2016 and will be built in three phases over the next 20 years.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/community/lakewood-ranch-herald/article52278845.html#storylink=cpy