Spotlight on Spring Hill, Florida

Spring Hill belongs to Florida’s Nature Coast and is in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area.

In Spring Hill, Florida you will find an array of landscapes ranging from natural coastline bordering the Gulf of Mexico, to green rolling hills, plentiful farmland, wide lakes, quiet rivers, and bubbling springs.

Considered the northern gateway to Tampa Bay, Hernando County boasts some of the state’s finest bass fishing in its lakes and rivers. Other outdoor recreation in the area includes hiking, canoeing, golf and biking on both paved and wilderness trails. Spring Hill is home to Buccaneer Bay, Florida’s only water park housed within a completely natural setting.

If golf is your game, Oak Hills Golf Course, Timber Pines, Grand pines Quail Ridge Gold and country club are just a few of the courses you can choose from in Spring Hill.

Real estate in Spring Hill is flourishing. Homes for sale are reasonably priced and there is a lot of new construction.  Although Spring Hill Real Estate is a growing location, there are still plenty of properties and resale homes, as well as new homes to choose from. Here you will also find a variety of independent home builders who will customize a home to your liking on your own lot.

The Suncoast Parkway also makes other cities such as Clearwater and St. Petersburg easily accessible. A trip to Orlando is only a short 2-hour drive allowing for a day of fun and excitement with all the attractions it has to offer. Spring Hill residents easily enjoy other nearby attractions within Clearwater and Tampa such as Busch Gardens, Clearwater Beach, and MOSI.

Spring Hill is also home to the “city of live mermaids” Weekie Wachee Springs and has made Spring Hill its home for nearly 60 years. This historical attraction brings you up close to mermaids and some of Spring Hill’s most wonderful natural surroundings. It is also home to Buccaneer Bay, Florida’s only natural spring water park, complete with slides, beaches and fun for the little ones.

Spotlight on Tierra Verde

Tierra Verde was once 15 islands covered with mangroves, pines and bush. These islands ranged in size from only a few acres to the largest, Cabbage Key, having over 289 acres. For centuries, Indians used the islands for ceremonial and burial grounds. A marker remains on the east side of Pinellas Bayway, just north of East Shore Drive, where Indian relics were found in a typical shellmound, excavated when the road was built to Fort DeSoto Park. The islands were sacred ground to Indian nations as far back as 500 years ago, archaeologists suggest, and deadly conflicts occurred when outsiders trespassed.

Then the Spanish explorers came. One explorer, Ponce De Leon, came to the area in 1513, and again in 1521, when he received the wound that he later died from after returning to Cuba. Later, Hernando De Soto, Navarez and John Ortiz explored, and then pirates and buccaneers sailed the area, including Jose Gaspar, Juan Gomez and Jean LaFitte. A treasure was reputed to have once been buried here.

In 1848 Robert E. Lee, then a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. army, recommended that Mullet Key be used for coastal defense in Florida. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, Fort De Soto was built on Mullet Key. Remains of the fort still stand, along with fortifications on Egmont Key. In 1948 the federal government sold Mullet Key to Pinellas County for park and recreation facilities, now Fort De Soto Park.

Early settlers to the area included Baltimore sea captain William Bunce and Silas Dent, who with hisbrother had a dairy farm. Dent lived on Cabbage Key until he died there in 1952.

Although two homes were built on Monte Cristo in 1923, and one in 1946, things were quiet until the mid-1950′s when a Dr. Bradley ‘Doc’ Waldron went to Tallahassee and persuaded the State of Florida to sell him Pine Key, Cabbage Key, Pardee Key and the surrounding bay bottom. This was about the same time construction of the old Skyway Bridge began. Waldron formed a partnership with two builders from Detroit, Hyman and Irving Green, who became majority owners of a group of 36 corporations. They named their island investment ‘Green Land.’

Waldron-Green Associates applied for a dredge-and-fill permit in 1957. Their intent: to pump some 9 million cubic yards of sand and shells from the bottom of the bay and thus enlarge and raise the ground level of the three keys Doc Waldron had purchased from the State and join them to create one large island intersected with canals between the sections.

Meanwhile, others sought county and state permission to dredge and pump the bay bottom and build up Bird Key, today’s Bayway Isles and Isla Del Sol. Miami developer, Leonard Ratner, purchased land which became the site of Eckerd College. Hamilton Disston, the largest landowner in the United States, began and lost his Disston City development, later renamed Gulfport.

At first, the only way to get here was by boat. A ferry ran from Pass-A-Grille to a dock at the end of Madonna Boulevard. Then the state developed its plans for the Bayway and financed it through a $16.8 million bond issue. The Greens persuaded the Department of Transportation to add a Fort DeSoto leg and contributed the land on which it was to be built, thus assuring themselves of land access to their proposed Tierra Verde.

The State’s final road and bridge plans were approved in early 1960, and the developer’s dredging permit was granted in December of that year. The dredging would create about 5,000 acres of buildable land. Waldron-Green and their various partners and corporations then sold the islands, with the dredge-and-fill permits, to Louis Berlanti, a contractor from New York City, and his son, Fred.

Early in 1961 Louis and Fred Berlanti arrived on the scene. By June of that year Louis was named president of the Tierra Verde Community Association, Inc.; Doc Waldron and H. D. Sluyter, of Dallas, Texas, were each appointed vice president. There was considerable speculation at the time as to exactly whose money it was that Berlanti represented. He was generally considered to be a ‘nominee’ for Clint Murchison, the Texas oil tycoon, since both Murchison and Sluyter had been elected directors of the Association. One or more union pension funds were thought by some to be the real source of the new money.

On June 30, 1961, the Tierra Verde Community Association, Inc. Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of Florida, and the original Declaration of Restrictions and Covenants were recorded in public records in August that same year.

By December 1962, there was a road and a bridge to Tierra Verde. In January 1963, Guy Lombardo’s Port O’ Call Resort had its grand opening, where Frank Sinatra, Marlene Deitrich, Liberace, Mel Torme, and many other musical and theatrical stars would later perform. Lombardo promoted the resort all across the country when the band did a 10-week national bus tour to more than 20 cities. Every show included several minutes to promote Tierra Verde and ‘his and the Murchison’s Port O’ Call Resort.’ All across the country, their bus had a Tierra Verde banner hung on its sides.

Six months later, on August 16, 1963, Louis and Fred Berlanti were gone. Fragments of their bodies and their exploded airplane were found floating in Lake Okeechobee. No additional details of the questionable accident were ever reported. The St. Petersburg Times alluded to ‘covert’ local activities.

With the death of the Berlantis, Tierra Verde was in the hands of the Murchisons for more than 14 years. Guy Lombardo and his band returned for only one more season, and was quoted as saying he had tried to strike a ‘new deal’ with the Murchisons but had not succeeded. He never returned.

Guy Lombardo died in 1977, the same year that real estate developer Frank E. Mackle, III was elected president of a new venture called the Tierra Verde Company, a joint venture between Madonna Corporation, (a Murchison interest), and Delverde [Deltona] Corporation. Because of lack of local interest, the Tierra Verde Company worked with a network of international brokers and sold many lots to overseas investors. But growth on Tierra Verde was still slow. However, in 1984 Pinellas Bayway got an exit ramp off Interstate 275 and Tierra Verde property sales increased greatly because of the easier access. In January 1985 Deltona turned the community over to the homeowners.

So now we have Tierra Verde, named perhaps as much for the brothers Green as for its green land. We are 667 acres, an unincorporated portion of Pinellas County. Both St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach have bid for our annexation, but we’ve voted to stay independent. The 15 original islands are now the present six areas of Tierra Verde: Monte Cristo, Entrada, Pinellas Bayway, Sands Point, East Shore (Bayview) and West Shore (Oceanview.)

We have waterways, 150 to 350 feet wide and some 15 feet deep, that are scientifically engineered so that the Gulf of Mexico’s tidal actions help sweep the waterways clean. We can fish the local waters, spot dolphin and sometimes manatees, sail to the Gulf of Mexico in minutes, and play on the beaches of Fort DeSoto Park.

In 1980 Tierra Verde real estate was valued at $15 million. By 1991 values had soared to $304 million. In November 1996 the Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s Office evaluated Tierra Verde property at $349 million, 1999 values were listed at $478 million, 2003 values were listed at $632 million, 2009 values just over 780 milion. There are now approximately 2,000 single-family and multi-family structures on Tierra Verde, as well as a number of commercial enterprises. An estimated 2,500 families are expected when Tierra Verde is built to completion.

Spotlight on St. Pete Beach, Florida

St. Pete Beach is home of pristine white sand beaches, clear gulf waters, warm sunshine, and plenty of hospitality.

St. Pete Beach is located in Pinellas County on the west coast of Florida between the Gulf of Mexico on the west and Tampa Bay on the east.

The City of St. Pete Beach is a barrier island community located just off the Pinellas County mainland with a permanent population of about 10,032. The city is also a popular winter residence for many people living in other parts of the United States, Canada and Europe.

About 28 percent of the total residential dwelling units in the city are owned by people claiming the primary residence elsewhere.

The city was incorporated in 1957 with the consolidation of the Towns of Pass-a-Grille, Don CeSar, Belle Vista, St. Petersburg Beach and unincorporated Pinellas County to become the City of St. Petersburg Beach. In 1994, the citizens voted to shorten the name to St. Pete Beach to lessen the confusion with the City of St. Petersburg, located on the mainland to the east.

St. Pete Beach is a significant tourist destination, having over 3,000 accommodation units, including major hotel and motel operations as well as many smaller, more intimate lodging facilities.

St. Pete Beach is a relaxing resort destination not far from major attractions.

For more information on real estate in the St. Petersburg area, please visit http://www.pinellashomesforsale.net/

Spotlight on Bradenton, Florida

Bradenton is located on US 41 between Tampa and Sarasota. The area is surrounded by waterways, both fresh and saltwater. Along the Gulf of Mexico and into Tampa Bay are over 20 miles of Florida beaches – many which are shaded by Australian pines. Bordered on the north by the Manatee River, Bradenton is located on the mainland and is separated from the outer barrier islands of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key by the Intracoastal Waterway.

Anna Maria Bayfront Park located on the north end of Anna Maria island is a park overlooking Tampa Bay. The business district and community of Bradenton Beach on the southern end of Anna Maria island is oriented toward vacationers who come to enjoy the surrounding beaches. Longboat Key, the next barrier island south, is popular with shell hunters along its beaches.

Downtown Bradenton is located on the west side of the city. Home to many of Bradenton’s offices and government buildings, it is a lively place with new buildings currently under construction. The tallest is the Bradenton Financial Center, 12 stories high, with its trademark blue-green windows.

The Eastern side of Bradenton is growing at a rapid rate. Initially starting as the popular subdivision Lakewood Ranch, it is now becoming a heavily populated part of town. Most of the communities are newer than in West Bradenton.

There’s plenty to do in Bradenton, making it a great spot to take a break from the beach. Visitors will find a vibrant downtown with restaurants, galleries and boutiques along with the South Florida Museum (home to Snooty, quite possibly the world’s most famous manatee) as well as a planetarium, science and natural history exhibits.

Spotlight on Crystal River, Florida

Crystal River, Florida is in the heart of the pristine Nature Coast! This beautiful area is one of the fastest growing in Florida, and there is no wonder. Crystal River has so much to offer singles, families, retired, and anyone else who is looking for a new, fresh, and exciting life.

Just a few minutes from anywhere in Crystal River is the sparkling and refreshing Gulf of Mexico, excellent for boating, fishing or just getting away from it all. There are also numerous rivers, lakes, and springs in the area including the Crystal River and The Homosassa River, both of which are spring fed.

One of the most popular activities in Crystal River Florida is swimming with the Manatees. Crystal River Florida is home to the endangered West Indian Manatee. Locals and tourists from around the world flock to Crystal River to swim with these giant, gentle sea cows.

While Crystal River is away from the hustle and bustle of big cities, those large metropolitan areas are just a short car ride away. Take a day and drive to nearby Orlando or Tampa and go to huge malls and theme parks. Or go up the road about a half hour to Ocala, where you can go to Silver Springs Park or Wild Waters.

Crystal River is home to three schools, Crystal River Elementary, Crystal River Middle, and Crystal River High School. The Pirates of Crystal River High have won many sports and academic awards throughout the past few years. So come and cheer them on as they battle other area schools in various sporting events.

There are also several golf courses in Crystal River including Seven Rivers Golf Course and the near by Plantation Inn and Golf Resort. With all that Crystal River has to offer, many people are calling this their new home.

Spotlight on Tarpon Springs, Florida

The name of the city was inspired by the tarpon, a fish that inhabits the nearby waters. Although the details of how the name came to be are uncertain, several accounts attribute it to early settlers who arrived in the area in the 1860s and 1870s.

Sponges were discovered in the Florida Keys during the 1820s. A commercial sponging operation was founded there around 1849. Spongers came to the area to work the beds and some relocated to Tarpon Springs. By 1900 the City was considered the largest sponge port in the United States.

The internationally renowned Sponge Docks of Tarpon Springs is a traditional Greek sponge-fishing enclave that has grown into a tourist mecca.

Tarpon Springs is a historic small city of 23,000 with an unusual mix of Greek culture, and Victorian and Floridian architecture. Incorporated in 1887, it is the oldest city in Pinellas County, Florida. Located on the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast of Florida, Tarpon Springs is north and west of the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area.

The city is full of parks, bayous and brick streets, and boasts two distinct downtowns. The National Register of Historic Places lists downtown, which is a mix of antique shops, boutiques, galleries, and museums.

Called the Venice of the South, Tarpon Springs has been an arts destination since the early 1900s, when George Inness, the father of American landscape painting, made his home here; other artists, performers and arts enthusiasts soon followed.

Tarpon Springs is perhaps most famous for its 100-year-old annual Epiphany celebration, involving Greek Orthodox young men diving for a cross that’s thrown into Spring Bayou. Today the population is rapidly expanding; more and more businesses, families and retirees are discovering the magic of Tarpon Springs.

Property Showcase – Safety Harbor offered by Raymonda Abunassar

Today we re previewing this lovely Property offered by Raymonda Abunassar of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate.

Here’s Waterfront Living At Its Best! Sweeping views of Tampa Bay await you at this magnificent custom built pool home in treasured Safety Harbor! Location is just North of historic Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, minutes to the marina, Safety Harbor downtown & Philippe Park, this 3-story 4 bedroom, 4 ½ bath mansion boasts nearly 6000SF of luxury & comes w/riparian rights along Tampa Bay where you can build your own dock!

The home sits on 1.5 Acres of tropical grounds & exotic landscape with spectacular views of the Bay! The interior features gleaming hardwood floors, towering ceilings, pillared columns, a handcrafted fireplace, elegant built-ins, 3rd floor study with cigar venting, plantation shutters, complete guest or in-law quarters, media or rec room w/kitchen/bar, soundproof music studio, state-of-the-art security system & interior cameras, indoor/outdoor stereo & surround sound & a chef’s dream kit with maple cabinetry, granite tops, center island, Viking range & Stainless Steel appliances. The outdoor living space is truly an oasis with nearly 3000SF of open balconies, a heated pool and spa with seamless waterfalls, fountain jet, outdoor grill, lots of covered lanai space & beautiful manicured fenced grounds. A valet garage for your boat too! Great home for entertaining. Located near Gulf Coast Beaches, emerald green fairways, prime yachting waters, shopping & Tampa Airport!

For a private showing call Raymonda Abunassar at (727) 504-1560.