St. Armands’ Ringling Estates is a destination by design
The neighborhood around the shopping circle on St. Armands Key is known as Ringling Estates. One of the early master-planned communities in Sarasota, it was the brainchild of John Ringling, the circus magnate, who wanted to combine commerce and residential real estate to create a flourishing tourist destination.
The barrier island was named after an early French pioneer, Charles St. Amand, who purchased 132 acres on Lido Key in 1893. A farmer and fisherman, he brought his catches and produce to the mainland by rowboat. The extra “r” in “St. Armands” sneaked in because of a misspelling of his name on land deeds.
By the time Ringling visited the key, only remnants of St. Amand’s homestead remained. The rest of St. Armands was uninhabited and consisted of beaches and mangrove forests. Ringling bought the entire island and hired Ohio architect John J. Watson to design a mercantile circle with a park at its center and surrounding residential area.
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Development started in the early 1920s during the first Florida real estate boom. A paddle-wheel steamboat, “Success,” ferried work crews, including circus employees and performers, to the island to build sidewalks, streets, seawalls and canals. Ringling named the park after his friend, President Warren Harding.
In 1925, Ringling started construction on a wooden causeway from the mainland. Stories that the circus showman used his elephants to help drag the timbers into place is one of Sarasota’s fanciful urban myths (along with the tale that he built small houses for his lilliputian performers).
The following year, opening sales in Ringling Estates reached an estimated $1 million. Unfortunately, the bursting of the Florida real estate bubble and the Great Depression put an end to Ringling’s dream. When he could no longer afford the upkeep of the causeway, he donated it to the City of Sarasota.
It wasn’t until two decades later that development of St. Armands Key resumed, but by the 1960s it had come into its own as a tourist mecca. Since then, the circle and feeder streets have expanded to more than 120 shops, galleries, restaurants and night clubs. The central park hosts arts and crafts fairs, luxury car shows and other popular events.
Ringling Estates features some of Sarasota’s most sought-after real estate. The 210 dwellings display a variety of architectural design, including 1920s Mediterranean, 1950s and ’60s ranch, cottage, Florida modern and post-modern. There is also a small, two-story condo development, Kingston Arms, which has 49 units.
Some of the smaller two- and three-bedroom, two-bath homes away from the water have floor plans between 1,300 and 1,500 square feet. Many of the residences along the canals and Sarasota Bay have been torn down and replaced by two-and three-story luxury estate mansions, providing living space of more than 5,000 square feet and commanding multimillion-dollar price tags.
“The location is a dream. You can walk to everywhere – shops, restaurants, Lido Beach – and it’s close to downtown and Longboat Key,” said Wendy Leventhal, an agent with Coldwell Banker Realty. “Plus, there is deep-water boat mooring.”
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She and her brother David, also a realtor for Coldwell Banker, have the most expensive listing in Ringling Estates, a 7-bed, 9-bath, gated mansion at 61 S. Washington Drive, with 8,572 square feet under air and expansive views of Sarasota Bay. There is a private, deep-water dock on the 172-foot of seawall. The asking price is $13.2 million.
Originally built in 1956, the house got a major renovation under its current owner in 2014, adding more than 1,000 square feet of living space and updating the interior with more contemporary elements.
There is an elevator, two master suites and a separate guest suite upstairs with a kitchenette, living room and its own entry. Imported, handcrafted leaded beveled glass doors lead to the wine room, as well as to the custom-built hickory wood library/office. An elegant, central courtyard, accessible by French doors from bedrooms and other locations in the house, offers privacy. “It’s like having your own retreat,” said Leventhal.
According to Leventhal, the demographics in Ringling Estates are changing. “The older population that has lived here for decades is turning over, and younger people are coming in,” she said. “A majority of my clients are in their 50s and 60s. They love the walkability, boating and convenience of being in close to a city yet having a lot of privacy.”
She added, “Many are second homeowners with children and grandchildren and want to have the ability for them to come visit.”
Currently, there are four other homes on the market besides Leventhal’s listing. Three are waterfront mansions on North Washington Drive, ranging in price from $7.899 million to $10.9 million. The fourth is a 3-bed, 2-bath ranch-style home on South Boulevard of the Presidents, priced at $1.495 million.
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