We are now homeowners after five years of living on a boat. The unit we purchased, 100 Central Avenue, is a located in the Five Points District, which is literally at the heart of Sarasota's lovely downtown.
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100 central Ave circled in the lower center of the photo
Notice Marina Jack to the left and the Ringling Bridge heading to Long Boat Key |
Within, "literally," a stone's throw (well OK, a block or two) are the following:
- The Maria Selby Library
- The Sarasota Opera House
- Whole Foods
- Florida Studio Theaters
- Sarasota City Hall
- Five Points Park
- The Main Street shopping district
- Marina Jack
- Restaurants galore
- Selva Lounge and Bijou Cafe, two of Sarasota's best restaurants
Within walking distance is The Van Weasel Performance Center, the government center, multiple hotels, Selby Gardens and our former "home," Marina Jack (4/10ths of a mile to the west). The favorite cliche in real estate is 'location, location and location. If you want downtown living this is the place. By the way, did I mention that Whole Foods is our "convenience" store. It's just across the street to the east of our building.
Here are a few views of 100 Central.
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| 100 central Avenue looking west |
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| Rear of 100 Central looking to the north west |
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| Driving up to the building |
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| The lobby at 100 Central Avenue |
!00 Central has a total of 95 units, which includes the high rise at the east end of the property, where we live, and two lower wings surrounding an indoor parking garage. This is a building with a security person on duty in the lobby 24 hours a day. This, for us, is an important consideration as we intend to spend five months of the year in Chicago.
Our unit is located on the 10th floor. The following is a tour of our 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath unit.
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| Six foot wide corridor. Our entryway is immediately to the left |
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| Living Room - notice the large window and the view |
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| We installed a 65 inch Q series Samsung TV on the wall. It is not effected by sunlight |
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breakfast nook just off the kitchen
Table compliments of Cheryl and Tom |
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| Kitchen looking into the living room |
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| Kitchen with great cabinet space |
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| Balcony (16 feet wide, 8 feet deep) |
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Looking into the kitchen
End table and coffee table compliments of Cheryl and GTom |
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| Entry way, bar and door to the master bedroom |
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Dining room
Note: Bookcase on loan from Cheryl and Tom |
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| Master bedroom |
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| Master bath with shower and bathtub |
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| Master bath with double sink |
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| Dresser and "informal" bike storage" |
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| Master closet |
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| Half bath |
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| Guest bedroom complete with Kodi |
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| Kodi looking at the guest bedroom balcony |
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| Guest bathroom |
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| Kodi keeping watch on the chest of drawers in the guest room |
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| View from the guest bedroom looking toward the dining area and door to the master bedroom |
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| Laundry Room |
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| Laundry room storage area |
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| Master bedroom looking into the master bath |
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| Our "office" with a stand-up adjustable BDI desk |
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| View northeast from the living room overlooking the pool |
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| View due east |
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| View looking southwest. You can see Sarasota Bay |
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| We have two parking spaces |
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| The private resident parking is largely enclosed |
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| Security gate viewed as you exit our private garage area |
Now to the building's amenities.
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| Our unit overlooks the pool |
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| The exercise room |
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| View from the pool looking west. Our unit is in the left stack |
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| Media Room |
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| Community Room |
Deja Vu. You will recall that we became fiends with our boat buyers,Wayne and Katherine. Well, we also became friends with our condo sellers, Cheryl and Tom. Turn out Cheryl and Tom have similar tastes in furniture (i.e., they like Scandinavian) and as noted above in the photos, gifted to us their breakfast nook table, an end table and a coffee table. They also loaned us a lovely bookcase with two curved end sections, which sits in the dining room.
So, as a result we have a new home and new friends. What more can you ask for.
Written by Les
