1044 VIRGINIA DRIVE

2 bedroom /1.5 bath "Jewel Box" built in 1941 by craftsmen. Unlike today's homes made of particle board and plywood, this home has a durable, bug-resistant Pecky Cypress exterior to go with Cedar and old growth Pine walls/floors. The fire-place and screened porch add to the ambiance. This is a special, unique home that is a solid 13' AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) and in the "X" non-flood zone (no expensive flood insurance required). Located in the best neighborhood in Sarasota: Indian Beach-Sapphire Shores. Here you're in the middle of everything: 180 ft. to a coffee shop, 250 ft. to a craft beer pub, 400 ft. to Ringling Art School, 420 ft. to Latin restaurant, 2 blocks to a Sarasota Bay-front Park (see photos), 0.4 mile to Walmart/CVS, 1 mile to Publix, 1.5 miles to Ringling Art Museum / USF / New College of FL, 1.75 miles to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, 1.75 miles in the other direction to Downtown Sarasota! You can walk down Virginia Dr. to the Bayfront Park and go swimming in Sarasota Bay. Why fight to find parking at the beach? People who live on Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island fight traffic jams to come and go. Not in this neighborhood, you're 5 mins from downtown and all the restaurants, boutiques, book stores, movie theaters, world class comedy club, etc. Did I mention no flood insurance required? That's getting hard to get and expensive. The house has a metal roof and is surrounded by a large 9,292 sq. foot lot (1.5 lots, 0.21 acres) of tropical foliage and privacy fence/bamboo on all sides. You'll find a lot of Kanapaha (babusa textilis) Dwarf Buddha Belly (bambusa vulgaris wamin), Blue Bamboo (bambusa chungii) and many others. It's a warm, inviting atmosphere and a great neighborhood for walking or bicycling with nice neighbors and many homes on the National Historic Registry. There's a reason people come here from around the world to go on vacation. About 0.5 mile north is the famous Old Florida "Sarasota Jungle Gardens" and their famous flamingos. Walk a few blocks north and you'll hit "Peacock Alley". There are 50-60 wild peacocks that live in the neighborhood. This area is full of John & Mabel Ringling and Ringling Bros. circus history. The same year this home was built, Mademoiselle Toto , a female gorilla, joined the show and Ringling staged the first ever "gorilla wedding." M' Toto ended up living on Virginia Drive, just a few doors down and on the opposite side of the street until her death in 1968. Famous Sarasota building contractor Paul W. Bergman built homes in this neighborhood. He's famous for construction of The Powell-Crosley Mansion bayfront estate about 2 miles north of here. This quiet, established, lush, tropical neighborhood has changed very little over the years. You'll find 1920's bay-front mansions, mid-century homes of every style and a few newer million dollar modern homes. North Sarasota has always been a hidden gem, full of fun and eclectic people and things to do. You'll love it here!