Palmer Ranch vs The Meadows

[Jomaark]

Thought on differences or pluses or minuses to Palmer Ranch vs The Meadows?
Decided we prefer to be on the West side of 75.

[Sunshine Rules]

The Meadows, located north off of 17th street in Sarasota or north on Honore off of Fruitville Rd, is one of the area's well known golf and country club communities. The Meadows was developed between the late 1970's and early 1990's by Taylor Woodrow, a large British home builder and construction company that's well known in our area. The community has more than 3,400 residences that occupy approximately 1600 acres. Housing options include single-family homes, garden homes, condos and villas, ranging in size from 1,500 to 5,700 square feet.

The Meadows is known for it's landscaping, nature preserves, golf courses and numerous ponds and lakes. There are approximately 12 miles of biking and walking and fitness trails. They also have a small community shopping center where they also hold seasonal events. You'll find many of the homes have HOA fees of around $600 per year.

Back in 2018 the Meadows Community Association "rescued" the Meadows Country Club from financial ruin while preserving the community’s valuable green space and protecting the amenities the club provides residents -- a sports and recreation complex consisting of three 18-hole golf courses, tennis and fitness centers, a pool, restaurants & a private, member-owned country club. The Association signed an agreement to purchase off of The Meadows club's land and buildings for $6 million and signed to lease the property back to the country club.

The Meadows is a well maintained older master planned community. Condo rentals are mostly seasonal, winter rentals. It's a short drive to the UTC Mall and Benderson shopping centers, I-75 and downtown Sarasota.



If you prefer to be closer to the beaches, Palmer Ranch in south Sarasota is a better option. Palmer Ranch consists of condos, townhomes and residential neighborhoods, many gated. Building started in the early 1990's and new construction continues to this day. Most of the new construction is centered around the southern portion of Palmer Ranch, in the Nokomis area.

Some of the older, gated neighborhoods such as Village Walk, Turtle Rock, The Palisades, Mira Lago feature low maintenance single family homes, villas & townhomes with lots of community amenities. Older, gated residential neighborhoods such as Marbella and Huntington Pointe are known for their landscaping, protected wetlands and wildlife preserves.

One thing of note for buyers looking into the older homes in the Palmer Ranch area is regarding plumbing. Due to a certain soil condition found in the Palmer Ranch area, a quantity of these older homes have had to deal with pin hole pipe leaks over the years. Although most pin hole issues have been addressed over the years, buyers should still inquire whether an older home has dealt with leaks or has the property been replumbed.

While Palmer Ranch does have some designated commercial areas, for the most part Palmer Ranch is residential. You won't see shopping centers, restaurants & business parks within the Ranch.

Several of the older condo communities located within Palmer Ranch were actually built as apartments that were converted to condos around 1999 - 2000. Two of those have dealt with significant repair issues to windows and stucco because of faulty work by the developers who converted the apartments. One of those condo communities did up front special assessments to repair the buildings, another choose to spread their special assessments out over a number of years by tacking them on to the monthly condo fees.

As to Community Development Districts, most of the older portions of Palmer Ranch are CDD free. Some newer communities do have CDDs and associated fees, others do not.

Palmer Ranch has both private and public golf courses but lacks other sports related fields or amenities. For bikers and hikers, the very popular Legacy Trail does run thru Palmer Ranch.



May I suggest a third option? Palm Aire Golf & Country Club situated just north of University Parkway in south Manatee county. There are several neighborhoods in the Palm Aire - Mote Ranch area in south Manatee county (just north of University Parkway) that you may want to consider. Palm Aire is very similar to The Meadows.

Mote Ranch is part of the newer section of Palm Aire, residents of Mote Ranch have access to a small community center with a pool, nature trail, private dock and canoe/kayak launch on the Braden River. Mote Ranch neighborhoods include Mote Ranch, Copper Ridge, Chaparral, Longpond at Mote Ranch, Grand Point, Meadowlake, Misty Lake and Riverbend.

The Palm Aire Country Club http://www.palmaire.net has a golf course open to the public and offers various tiers of membership, including some seasonal options, but residents in Palm Aire are not obligated to join.

Palm Aire neighborhoods include Desoto Lakes Country Club, Country Lakes and Palm Aire. You'll find HOA fees in much of Palm Aire at $65 to $120 per year and most of Mote Ranch at less than $700 per year.

[Jomaark]

Thanks so much. Very helpful. I drove by Palm Aire yesterday. We aren't golfers. We are swimmers and snorkelers. We like Lido beach so hoping for short access to there.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by Jomaark

Thanks so much. Very helpful. I drove by Palm Aire yesterday. We aren't golfers. We are swimmers and snorkelers. We like Lido beach so hoping for short access to there.

Do you swim in pools or the Gulf?

I dont see many snorklers in this forum area. The water clarity is marginal.

Are you willing to share a price range? Seems like older homes are okay w/ you.

I lived in Palmer Ranch for 1.5 yrs...loved it. Not real convenient to Lido Beach though, but I still used to go there 2x/month because I like the park at the South end of the Island. 25 minute drive. Siesta Key Beach was only 15 mins. I lived near the Costco in Palmer Ranch.

Southgate would be even closer. All older homes though.

Since you are not golfers, I suggest avoiding golf communities totally...like Palm Aire. Its sub-optimal socially, and financially.

[Jomaark]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Do you swim in pools or the Gulf?

I dont see many snorklers in this forum area. The water clarity is marginal.

Are you willing to share a price range? Seems like older homes are okay w/ you.

I lived in Palmer Ranch for 1.5 yrs...loved it. Not real convenient to Lido Beach though, but I still used to go there 2x/month because I like the park at the South end of the Island. 25 minute drive. Siesta Key Beach was only 15 mins. I lived near the Costco in Palmer Ranch.

Southgate would be even closer. All older homes though.

Since you are not golfers, I suggest avoiding golf communities totally...like Palm Aire. Its sub-optimal socially, and financially.

Not sure on price range. Need to find right place first.
Only thing we've determined is we want to live West of 75. Taking golf communities off list.
Swim in gulf. Deciding too if want own pool or not.
Don't want to deal with older home but don't need brand new either.
We are on first explore trip. Determined we like it very much here.
Probably looking at buying or renting next year. Not in a hurry.