Neighborhood Spotlight

Golden Gate Point

By: Charlotte F. Hedge, Broker Associate, The Hedge Team

Early Sarasotans knew Golden Gate Point as Cedar Point, a low-lying mangrove area used as a boatyard and sawmill. It was a jungle of rotting boat hulls when developer Owen Burns acquired it in 1910. In 1923, Burns dredged and filled the “Point” to its present size.

Golden Gate Point became important when Burns, and circus magnate John Ringling, teamed up to develop St. Armand’s Circle and south Longboat Key. From 1926 to 1959, Golden Gate Point was the approach for the first Ringling Causeway Bridge.

Today, Golden Gate Point is the site of its own downtown, building boom fueled by its water views and located south of the Ritz Carlton, a la, Golden Gates.

In December 2005, the citizens of Golden Gate Point voted affirmatively for the city to undertake a streetscape with underground utilities, landscaping, pavers all around, and an entrance that mirrors the Ritz Carlton, enhancing the Point’s exclusivity to the downtown of Sarasota.

Many of the city’s most expensive waterfront condominiums are found along the East and West perimeter of the Point, with an eclectic and diverse interior of condos, duplexes, single-family homes, and a few building lots. Today there are 329 homes with nearly 30 different associations and new construction continuing at the entrance of the Point.

Some of the newer buildings are La Bellasara, Grand Riviera, Renaissance, Aqua, Majestic Bay, Golden Bay, Alta Mer, Phoenix, Vista Bay Point, 188, and Evolution, now under construction. Pier 550 on the east side of the Point are two-story structures built in the 1950s and owners enjoy the largest piece of waterfront property in the city at 660 ft of seawall and 2.36 acres. The 50 dwellings here have had developer interest in the past, yet still, survive. •