Gulf-front living: The Sanderling Club

Located just south of Point of Rocks, on Siesta Key, The Sanderling Club is one of Sarasota’s most unique collections of homes. The canopy roads, the shoreline rocks and the crystal-clear water gives The Sanderling Club a charm of its own. 

The gated neighborhood encompasses areas featuring all kinds of waterfront properties, with homes located on the Gulf of Mexico, Heron Lagoon and Sarasota Bay. The location, which was developed in the 1940s, is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

The pristine, park-like setting of the area makes this location one of the most beautiful in all of Sarasota; it offers a private white-sand beach for residents whose homes don’t back up to the Gulf of Mexico to enjoy as well.

We took a look at a few of the beachfront homes in Sanderling to see what types of homes lie behind the heavy foliage that lines Sanderling Road, and to see what kind of views lie beyond that. What we found is not only varying views and backyard beaches, but a wide range of custom architecture and design, as well.

Polynesian Paradise

Michael Jensen and Sue Strober’s beachfront home is a gem for many reasons. Located south of Point of Rocks, the home’s beachfront is connected only to Turtle Beach, which makes the home’s backyard private and isolated. 

Designed by Maho Abe and Mark Smith and built by Michael K. Walker, the home resembles contemporary Polynesian design. The two structures that make up the home (the main home and guest home) surround a central courtyard, which features a large swimming pool, spa and many areas for entertaining, including an outdoor, air-conditioned kitchen.

The wraparound porch with columns that surround the home is not solely an aesthetic feature. Screens pull down to completely enclose the porch, with the columns connecting it all.

As with the majority of the beachfront homes in Sanderling, the home includes property across the road on Heron Lagoon; the home boasts the largest of the lagoon accesses in the neighborhood.

Priced at $10.9 million. For more information, call Mel and Jan Goldsmith at Michael Saunders & Co. at 356-6673.

Simplicity on the seaside

David Freund's beachfront residence in Sanderling is another architecturally outstanding home, with views of the Gulf of Mexico that are as equally impressive.

Designed by Guy Peterson, the home is built like a condominium, composed of three elevated concrete levels, all with views of the tropical paradise the Freunds call their “backyard.” But it’s not just the Gulf of Mexico that makes the home’s backyard resemble a tropical resort. David Freund planted the luscious landscape himself, and grew many of the trees, such as the coconuts, from seeds.

Priced at $11.5 million. For more information, call Linda Dickinson at 350-3304 or Kelly Quigley at 356-9954, both of Michael Saunders & Co.

White-sand getaway 

Dr. William Bennett’s beachfront property in Sanderling is a topical oasis, with a yard resembling that of a resort.

The white sand backyard backs up to the Gulf of Mexico, featuring a shoreline of rocks and palm trees, giving the property that resort getaway feel.

Priced at $5,650,000. For more information call Michael Moulton at Michael Saunders & Co. at 928-3559.