• Saturday October 14th, 2006 - The Daily Telegraph

"Florida's battered coastline has come by a makeover", says Laura Henderson.
(The Daily Telegraph, October 14, 2006)

Head along the Tamiami Trail, 70 miles south of Tampa in Florida, and you'll discover a waterfront community of new apartments and remodelled homes has sprung up in the path of the hurricane devastation from 2004. Take, for example, Charlotte Harbour, sandwiched between Sarasota and Fort Myers, where a swampy extension of the Everglades has been tamed into canal-front lots. This was one of the largest unexploited waterfront areas on America's south-west coast, and much of it is under strict environmental control. The main attraction for buyers is access to the water, with wide, open 'cruise n' sail' areas just offshore.

'Drive through places like Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda, and you're looking at Florida's Tomorrowland,' says Ged Pal, of Florida Suncoast Vacations. 'Fuelling the growth,' he says, 'are incomers to the state. Most are baby boomers and urbanites escaping the cooler climes of the northern United States, but interest from European buyers is also strong, helped by a weakened dollar and improved air links to Fort Myers.'

Spreading seaward on the Cape Haze peninsula, and criss-crossed by a grid of canals, is the area's first 'master-planned' community, Rotonda. Its luxury homes come in all shapes and sizes, from turn-of-the-century designs in clapboard to airy suburban villas. 'This is undiluted Florida,' says Sheila Lane-Richardson, from Exeter, who bought her holiday home with husband Keith two years ago. 'Golf is one of the biggest draws. We have four championship courses within a seven-mile radius of the house. Sports fishing and sailing are a year-round way of life for some, but we usually settle for a glass of wine by the pool.'

All very different from the late 1870's, when commercial fishing attracted the first settlers - mainly Cuban and Bahamian stone crabbers. Later, the railroad opened up the Gulf coast to wealthy northerners. The community's nautical roots remain in evidence today, but the resident mariners now share the waterfront with aspiring artists and politicos, such as the Bush family.

Popular artsy-meets-fishy communities include South Gulf Cove; and Placida, where colourful street names such as Myakka Creek Lane and Grouper Hole Drive are a gentle reminder you that you're island-hopping, even if you can't see the water. 'Prices in Placida start at about £250,000 for a three-bed villa with pool,' says local agent Steven Del-Viscio, 'and you've got Englewood beach on your doorstep.'

Down the road on the island of Boca Grande, estate agency Parsley-Baldwin is selling 'the ultimate island heritage lifestyle'. The patter isn't entirely PR puff: joined to the rest of civilisation by a slender man-made causeway, the island makes only one concession to modern economics in the form of a handful of designer boutiques.

'It's a mature market,' says Richard Taylor, an estate agent from Gulf to Bay Sotheby's. 'The average spend is £1 million - £3 million - more if it's a Victorian or architect-designed home - and buyers are never in too much of a hurry to sell.'

Back in Rotonda, the sundowner golf estate tour is under way in the custom-built community of Long Marsh. Immaculate show homes line the fairways.

'We purchased our first property three years ago,' explains Joe McGhee, a company director from Belvedere in Kent, 'and have bought several more since. From design to build completion, you're looking at about 18 months. You're looking at upwards of £200,000 for a three-bed villa with pool. There are no zoning restrictions, so homes earn their rental keep.'

We talk elbow room with Neil Curran, who has retired to the area. 'The extra space down here is the trump card,' he says. 'It's a joy having state parks and marinas that aren't clogged with tourists.'"

A New Dawn In The Sunshine State.
The Daily Telegraph: P4
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2006/10/14/pflorida14.xml
(accessed October 14, 2006).