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    Author: SparkDev

    LAKEWOOD RANCH CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS

    Posted on by SparkDev

    Lakewood Ranch will be celebrating the holidays in November and December, at its Main Street and Waterside Place town centers, and everyone is invited! Ranch residents are encouraged to come out to one or all events and to bring friends, family, and visitors to experience how the Lakewood Ranch lifestyle exemplifies what community is all about.

    There is so much to do – and not just for the holidays, but year-round!  Make sure you don’t miss anything; stop by our Information Center pop-up events at Waterside Place on Nov. 19 at the Farmers’ Market and Nov. 22 during Ranch Nite Wednesday, to learn more about living in Lakewood Ranch and all our award-winning lifestyle has to offer!

    First, start the season out right by finding the hidden elves from Nov. 22 through Jan. 1. Spot the elves hidden around Lakewood Ranch’s Main Street and you could become a winner! More than 15 mischievous elves are hiding inside and outside, so be sure to look high and low. Record what they’re doing and drop your entry form off at the Lakewood Ranch Information Center to enter. Entry forms can be picked up from the Lakewood Ranch Information Center, 8131 Lakewood Main St, Lakewood Ranch.

    Make sure to do some seasonal shopping at the Main Street Small Business market, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 18 and Dec. 16, and don’t forget to visit local businesses for Small Business Saturday, on Nov. 25 at both town centers and all independent stores on The Ranch. On Dec. 2 and 3, Main Street will host the LWR Holiday of the Arts Festival, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    The official Main Street tree lighting will be held from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Dec. 1, preceding Music on Main, at LWR Main Street. There will be breakfasts and brunches with Santa all throughout December at both Main Street and Waterside Place. Santa will also stroll Main Street and Waterside Place throughout the month; visit lakewoodranch.com/connect/events-list for times and dates.

    Chabad of Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch’s annual Chanukah Celebration will be held at LWR Main Street from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 7; for more information visit chabadofbradenton.com.

    On Dec. 15, come to see the Holiday Movie in the Park – “The Santa Clause” – from 6-9 p.m. at Waterside Park, with a visit from Santa from 6-8 p.m. Also at Waterside Place, catch the Out-of-Door Academy’s holiday performance at the Sights and Sounds arts series from 6-7 p.m.

    If you’re trying to get a jump on your New Year’s resolutions, sign up for the Jungle Run 5K on Dec. 15, “one of the largest and most cheerful 5K races in the area”! Registration opens at 4 p.m.; the night ends with a post-race holiday festival. For more information visit thejingle5k.org.

    With both town centers decorated for the holidays, don’t forget to come out and enjoy favorite activities such as Music on Main, from 6-9 p.m. on the first Friday of each month; Ranch Nite Wednesdays, weekly at Waterside Place from 6-9 p.m.; and the Farmers’ Market, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, at Waterside Place.

    And to start 2024 out right, come celebrate the new year at Waterside Place, starting at 6 p.m. and running until midnight, when the sky will be illuminated with a drone show over Kingfisher Lake! DJ Truth will be spinning high-energy tunes, and food and beverage will be available for purchase from town center merchants and participating food trucks. 

    Come out and enjoy the holidays with us!

    About Lakewood Ranch

    Lakewood Ranch is the 33,000+-acre award-winning master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties on the West Coast of Florida. Just minutes from the Gulf Coast beaches and cultural assets in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch is already home to more than 66,000 residents and features top-rated schools, the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, the Sarasota Polo Club, the 75-acre Premier Sports Campus, three town centers, and countless shopping and dining experiences. For more information visit www.lakewoodranch.com.

    Waterside Place is located at 1561 Lakefront Drive, 34240, and Main Street is at 8100 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., 34202.

    Ticket Editor: Sarasota’s best new waterfront restaurant serves fabulous Italian food

    Posted on by SparkDev

    The best new waterfront restaurant in Sarasota and Bradenton is this place serving amazing Italian cuisine.

    Wade Tatangelo

    Sarasota Herald-Tribune

    We’re approximately a dozen miles east of Sarasota’s best waterfront restaurants and significantly farther from my favorite dining spots along Bradenton Riverwalk, or the renowned eateries by the famously beautiful beaches of Siesta Key, Venice and Anna Maria Island.

    There are no natural beaches nearby, and I suspect that many of the ponds and lakes are man-made, but we are situated beside a substantial body of water. And while I’m more accustomed to searching for lazily floating manatees or frolicking dolphins, I’ve come to the edge of the elevated patio to gaze down over the rail at a swiftly moving alligator, which appears large enough to view me as a potential snack.

    Such are the sights on the shores of Kingfisher Lake in the upscale new Waterside Place neighborhood of Lakewood Ranch. Waterside Place is where Old Florida meets New Florida, where ancient reptile predators swim in waters surrounded by bougie condos, shops, and restaurants. It’s also where you will find one of the best new restaurants to open this year in Sarasota or Manatee counties.

    New restaurant Osteria 500 is in Lakewood Ranch’s bougie new waterfront neighborhood Waterside Place

    I spotted the alligator during a recent weekday dinner at Osteria 500, following an equally rewarding lunchtime visit a few days prior. The restaurant is the newest addition to Waterside Place, a brand-new neighborhood that is already home to dining and drinking establishments such as Kore Steakhouse, Good Liquid Brewing Co., and Forked. Additionally, a Deep Lagoon Seafood and Oyster House location as well as the Mexican-American restaurant Agave Bandido are set to open there. Yes, I will be returning to Waterside Place.

    Osteria 500 opened this summer with plenty of well-deserved hype. Its proprietors include Giuseppe Del Sole, who also owns Napulè, the acclaimed Italian restaurant on South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, which earned a coveted Golden Spoon award from Florida Trend magazine. I arrived at Osteria 500 for the first time on a recent Saturday afternoon with high hopes.

    You enter Osteria 500 from Waterside Place’s main Lakefront Drive and are immediately enveloped by the cozy ambiance of brick and wood, complete with a long bar and mezzanine seating above. Follow the hostess to the covered patio seating overlooking Kingfisher Lake, as I did recently, and make sure to first pause and gaze at the gelato stand, the pastry display case, and the open kitchen featuring a wood-burning oven built atop a Fiat 500. Once outside, you’ll see the lake, hear its fountain, and notice Osteria 500’s outdoor bar, which is constructed from a vintage truck painted powder blue and adorned with marquee lights that spell out the venue’s name.

    While the Disney World-esque Waterside Place is not exactly where you would expect to find one of the region’s most authentic Italian restaurants, that’s precisely what you get at Osteria 500. For instance, on Saturday, our Italian server presented us with the Italian water we ordered before guiding us to a couple of Italian beers as we perused the menu of Italian dishes (written in Italian with English descriptions). The restaurant also boasts an impressive Italian wine list and a cocktail menu featuring various Italian liquors and liqueurs. Even the background music featured Italian singers, and not just the usual Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin recordings; these singers were performing in Italian, albeit often delivering covers of classic American pop tunes.

    REX JENSEN HONORED WITH THE 2023 LEGEND AWARD BY BUILDER

    Posted on by SparkDev

    Zonda has announced Rex Jensen as the 2023 recipient of its Legend Award, presented by BUILDER, today at the Future Place event at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street in Tampa, Florida. 

    “The Legends Award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the planned-community sector,” said Jeff Meyers, chief executive officer of Zonda. “Rex Jensen’s career is an inspiration for everyone in the industry, let alone the tens of thousands of people who have built their lives in his communities.”

    Jensen is the president and chief executive officer of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (SMR), a company he joined in 1990 as vice president of planning. SMR is the developer of Lakewood Ranch, a 27,000-home master plan comprising more than two dozen unique villages.

    “It’s been gratifying to look back at the results,” Jensen told BUILDER in a feature interview. “Sometimes when you’re in the heat of it, when you’re wondering if you are going to be allowed to continue developing or when you hit a large economic downturn as we did in 2007 – which was an economic quagmire or ‘great extinction’ where 90% of our industry died – those were not particularly enjoyable experiences. But, you know, we have come through them, and overall, it’s been a tremendous ride.”

    Jensen will be honored at the conference and featured on the cover of the October edition of Builder Magazine with the “Ground for Growth” feature story by Leah Draffen. Previous winners of the Legends Award include Fred Balda of Hillwood Communities, Larry Johnson of Johnson Development, and Emile Haddad of FivePoint Holdings.

    “Rex has played a crucial role in ensuring Lakewood Ranch stays innovative and up to date with the latest design, development, styles, trends, and business models – reflecting his dedication to delivering high-quality, modern, and desirable communities,” said John Cannon, president of John Cannon Homes, which has been building custom homes in Lakewood Ranch since its inception. “Besides his forward-thinking, he is in tune with enhancing the human experience by understanding the importance of intertwining green spaces, various recreational areas, and modern conveniences within the community. By including these elements in the planning and development of Lakewood Ranch, he has made it the successful master-planned community it is today.”

    About Zonda

    Zonda provides data-driven housing market solutions to the homebuilding industry. From builders to building product manufacturers, mortgage clients, and multifamily executives, we work hand-in-hand with our customers to streamline access to housing data to empower smarter decisions. As a leading brand in residential construction, our mission is to advance the home building industry, because we believe better homes mean better lives and stronger communities. Together, we are building the future of housing.

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