How would you describe the style of architecture to the left? Bland? Boring? Banal? Well, according to Webster, it does "lack originality or freshness" so I guess banal wins the day. I call it Canadian Modern, since it was built in 1991 by a developer who decided to build condos around his surplus cedar wood windows.
You see, this guy had the window franchise for Pella of Canada, and a warehouse full of windows that nobody was buying. So he put them on a truck and headed south, built about fifty of these structures near a beach in Florida, and then marketed them to his countrymen as a vacation rental property. There are still perhaps a dozen Canadians owning a unit here, plus another group of British owners, and of course we also have Germans to round out our international flavor. On select days, you'll hear a modicum of Spanish speaking, if you can hear over their lawnmowers and leaf blowers.
What attracted this United Nations of ownership is the proximity of the beach, a mere half mile walking distance on average. It's a bit more for me, but then again I'm only two minutes walk from Sarasota Bay and the Inter-coastal Waterway. In fact, if I look out that second story window on the left, I can see water. This is known as a "partial water view". Should I look out the opposite window, I cannot see the Gulf of Mexico - only about a quarter mile of mangrove trees and the back sides of more condos near the pool. The picture on the right shows the entire 34 acre complex - my place is within that circle of homes near the bay. Across the bay is Bradenton.
In 2003, we decided to take the plunge and invest in a Florida vacation home, but had a budget to consider. We also had a daughter at Florida State University, who would be most happy to have a weekend retreat for sun and study. Our expectations of what we could buy for our dollars were unrealistic, and we looked at several other islands before stumbling upon the condo above. This condo is a LOT nicer on the inside - featuring nine and a half foot ceilings and plenty of sunlight through those windows and the sliding glass lanai doors on the main level. The day we saw it, we made an offer on it. We think we got a deal, paying just over 250K on an island where most properties fetch seven figures to start. We felt pretty good when prices for identical units spiked at $505,000 in 2005. Recent sales at $340K and $370K give us some comfort, as we're still maintaining a paper profit, but of course lately there are also a few bank owned properties we expect to sell for what we paid seven years ago, so "easy come, easy go". The real estate people who say "now's the time to buy" probably have a point - all across Florida.
Still, for what we paid, we are quite happy - 1500 square feet, a one-and-three-quarters car garage (we still get the Vette and the Z-4 inside with a few inches to spare), two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, and a second floor washer/dryer closet. But we're not counting the improvements - we wish that Canadian built these AFTER Hurricane Andrew came ashore in 1992 and caused the state to adopt a much tougher building code. So, after we bought, we put in NEW windows - the kind that will withstand 140 mph winds, and we replaced all that cedar with James Hardie Plank - looks like wood, but a cement composite with a 50 year warranty. So bring on the bugs, the wind, the rain, and whatever else nature can throw - we're quite ready to ride out any storm. We've updated the inside as well, and when the cold wind blows in Missouri we're down here enjoying the................wait a minute, why is it cold down here too? We set a record a week or so ago - 34 degrees in Manatee County. Where's all that global warming Fat Albert promised us?
Now, if you're really curious you can go to www.cedarstennisresort.com and see pictures of the Junior Olympic size pool, the nature trail, the tennis clubhouse, etc. Rentals are reasonable (for a Florida island anyway) and we're always happy to see friends from the frozen north - just don't bring any wooden windows or wooden nickels with you.
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