Longboat Key - Country Club Shores

Feb 2019 - One of the most prestigious communities has undergone considerable change

In the early 1960s, the Arvida Realty Company transformed the Sarasota Bay area in impressive ways, not seen since days when John Ringling and Owen Burns developed Lido Key during the first Florida real estate boom. Arvida turned Bird Key from a small island into a 200-acre enclave, built the Longboat Key Club, and created Country Club Shores on the southern bayside of Longboat Key.

Country Club Shores was intended to be a boater’s paradise from the get-go. Arvida dredged 18 parallel channels with 19 streets thrusting into the bay like the teeth of a long comb. As a result, nearly all of the homes back onto the canals or have spectacular bayside views of downtown Sarasota. Private docks accommodating 30- to 40-foot yachts offer sheltered mooring for just about every resident. New Pass just to the south provides easy access to the Gulf of Mexico.

The community was built in five phases, starting at Sloop Lane and ending at Putter Lane at the northern end. In the first three developments, the lanes branch directly off Gulf of Mexico Drive. The last two developments have separate entrances with signage.

Today, Country Club Shores continues to be one of the most prestigious communities in the area. Its 396 homes, many of them 1960s ranch-style houses, represent one of the few single-family neighborhoods on Longboat Key. With large palm trees and lush landscaping throughout, a distinct old Florida atmosphere makes for a quiet, easy-going lifestyle.

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