No other residential community beats Bay Isles in terms of size and diversity of homes for sale in Longboat Key. This property covers 725 acres, occupying about 50 percent of the whole southern half of the 12-mile long island including most of its widest point where the town center and commercial hub are likewise located.
Bay Isles, a project of the prolific Sarasota developer Arvida Corp., started taking shape in the mid-1970s. Essentially, it was formed as a residential component for Arvida’s Longboat Key Club’s Harbourside resort development. The facilities of the private and exclusive resort club—principally a 27-hole golf course and a 291-slip marina—are part of the template around which the Bay Isles community was woven.
The residents of Bay Isles can access these facilities with a club membership in the resort. Already bundled with ownership of a home in this community is membership to the Bay Isles Beach Club, a gulf-side private beach just across Gulf of Mexico Drive west of the property.
A total of 22 residential neighborhoods constitute the Bay Isles community for an aggregate of some 1,200 units enriching considerably the stock of Longboat Key homes for sale. The overall density of this community remains light. A 2013 study by the Urban Land Institute indicated that there is still the potential to build an additional 1,096 residences in the Bay Isles area based on its zoning category of 3.26 residential units per acre.
Bay Isles homes for sale represent a cross-section of the residential styles available in Longboat Key. Within this community are neighborhoods comprised not only of bayfront estates and single family homes. Its area also features villas, townhouses and condo units like those at Grand Bay, Fairway Bay and Marina Bay. Already within the gated perimeter of the Longboat Key Club, most of the Bay Isles neighborhoods have their own gates and security protocols.
For buyers in search of upscale villas amongst Longboat Key homes for sale, good Bay Isles bets could be found at Queens Harbor and Corey’s Landing, both located bayfront. Other options are at Harbor Oaks where many villas overlook the golf links of Longboat Key Club.
Going for single family homes for sale in Bay Isles could best start north at its Western Point or The Bayou neighborhoods where most are waterfront residences with boat docks. Other charming destination for detached single family residences in this northern Bay Isle section is Sabal Cove and Winding Oaks, both embraced by a serene horseshoe-shaped lake ideal for kayaking.
Homes for sale in Bay Isles’ northern side are typically priced from the upper $500s up to the million-dollar level. Go south of the Longboat Key Club’s marina at the Bay Isles Harbor section for the crown jewels. Notably, a Palladian-inspired single family home here purchased for $4.75 million in 2013 emerged as one of the finalists in the 2014 “House of the Year” poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal.
Current listings in the Bay Isles Harbor area are in the $1.7 million‒$5.5 million range for homes designed with three to five bedrooms within floor plans of between 3,000 and 6,500 square feet. At the north section of Bay Isles, the price points typically ease down under the million-dollar mark for three-bedroom single family homes with floor plans of over 2,000 square feet.
Below are all of the current real estate listings available for sale at Bay Isles.
Please contact me if you would like to schedule a tour of any of the listed properties.