Eleven thousand acres east of I-75 spanning Manatee and Sarasota counties — two school districts, the Premier Sports Campus, parks and trails, and a walkable Main Street. From townhomes to estates, guided by Danielle Gladding and Alison Kanter.
Drive into Lakewood Ranch on a Saturday morning and you will understand it in about ten minutes. There are kids on the soccer fields at the Premier Sports Campus. There are people on bikes on the trails. There is a farmers market on Main Street and a birthday party spilling out of a restaurant patio. This is a community that was master-planned from the ground up — and it shows in everything from the trail network to the width of the sidewalks.
This guide covers the villages across the development. Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty is an independent brokerage serving Sarasota, Longboat Key, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Danielle Gladding has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987. Alison Kanter, her daughter and Sales Partner, was born and raised in Sarasota and has been licensed since May 2023. They work every transaction together.
We want to be straight with you about something up front, because it is the most important thing we can tell you. Most of the neighborhoods we write about — Longboat Key, St. Armands, downtown — are barrier-island and urban-core communities built around water and walkability. Lakewood Ranch is a different kind of place: one of the largest master-planned communities in the United States, built inland around schools, sports facilities, trails and town centres.
We are Danielle Gladding and Alison Kanter — a mother-daughter Sarasota luxury real estate team whose combined market memory across Sarasota and Manatee counties goes back to 1981. Danielle has been a licensed Realtor since 1981 and a Broker since 1987. Alison holds the Certified Waterfront Specialist, Real Estate Negotiation Expert, and Certified Residential Listing Specialist designations, and brings a Clemson MBA and the analytical discipline that buying inside a community this large genuinely requires. Lakewood Ranch is not one decision — it is dozens of them, and we help buyers make them in the right order.
This page is the clear-eyed overview of the whole community — the villages, the schools, the sports, the lifestyle, and the tradeoffs no model-home salesperson will explain. Where a village deserves its own deep dive, we link you to it. When you are ready for a private conversation, our information is at the bottom of this page.
The fast picture, for anyone who likes to start with the facts.
Location: A large master-planned community east of I-75, straddling the Manatee–Sarasota county line, roughly 20–30 minutes from downtown Sarasota and the Gulf beaches
Scale: One of the top-selling master-planned communities in the United States for many consecutive years — tens of thousands of residents across dozens of villages, with new construction ongoing
School districts: Lakewood Ranch spans BOTH the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts — which district a home falls into depends on its exact location, and it materially affects school assignment. This is the single most important due-diligence point for any buyer (see callout below)
Building stock: Everything from townhomes and first family homes to luxury golf-course estates and multi-generational floor plans — the widest range of any community in the region
Lifestyle anchors: Lakewood Ranch Main Street, Waterside Place at Lakewood Ranch, the Premier Sports Campus, multiple golf and country clubs, parks, and an extensive trail network
Drive times: Roughly 20–30 minutes to downtown Sarasota, 15–25 minutes to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), 30–40 minutes to the Gulf beaches, about an hour to Tampa
Property tax climate: Florida — no state income tax, homestead exemptions for primary residents. Note that Lakewood Ranch homes typically carry CDD (Community Development District) fees — we explain these below
THE MOST IMPORTANT DUE-DILIGENCE POINT — TWO COUNTIES, TWO SCHOOL DISTRICTS Lakewood Ranch sits across the Manatee–Sarasota county line, which means two different homes inside the same community can be zoned to two entirely different school districts. Manatee County and Sarasota County run separate school systems with separate assignments, ratings, and boundaries. A home a few streets away from another can feed into a different elementary, middle, or high school. If school assignment matters to your purchase, do not assume it from the community name. Attendance zones are set by the districts and change over time. Confirm the current assignment for a specific address directly with the Manatee County or Sarasota County school district before you go under contract. |
Lakewood Ranch is not one neighborhood. It is dozens of distinct villages, each with its own gates, price points, builders and amenities. A family looking for a first home in a townhome village is not the same buyer as a family wanting a golf-course estate behind a manned gate. Most outside agents treat “Lakewood Ranch” as one line item. We treat it the way it actually is. Here is the candid layout of the major villages — and where a village has its own dedicated page, we point you to it.
One of Lakewood Ranch’s premier gated villages — luxury homes behind a manned gate, organized around golf. A common first stop for buyers looking at move-up luxury inside the Ranch.
The top tier of Lakewood Ranch luxury — a grand-gated village of large custom estates around lakes and preserves, with its own clubhouse and a more formal, estate-scale character. This is the Ranch’s highest-end segment.
Resort-style living with a maintenance-included lifestyle, amenity centers, and a wide range of floor plans and a maintenance-included structure.
An age-restricted village operating as 55+ housing under the Housing for Older Persons Act. Amenity-rich, with homes at a smaller scale than the surrounding villages.
Lakewood Ranch keeps growing. Villages like Waterside, Mallory Park, Lorraine Lakes, Azario, Indigo, Polo Run, and a continuing pipeline of new neighborhoods each serve a distinct buyer. We build dedicated pages for the villages that warrant them and help you compare the rest in person. The point is simple: do not shop “Lakewood Ranch.” Shop the right village inside it.
School district assignment is the question we field most often about Lakewood Ranch, so we address it directly.
Lakewood Ranch is served by both the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts. Because the county line runs through the Ranch, assignment depends entirely on a home’s exact location. Performance grades are published by the Florida Department of Education and boundaries by each district; both change from year to year. Verify current assignment for a specific address with the district itself.
Independent schools in the area include The Out-of-Door Academy’s Lakewood Ranch campus, with additional independent schools within driving distance toward Sarasota. Enrollment policies, tuition, and admission timelines are published by each school.
Square footage is rarely what people describe when they talk about living here. It is what the weeks feel like — the trails, the Friday nights on Main Street, the events at Waterside Place. Here is what that looks like.
The Premier Sports Campus is a 140-acre multi-field complex that hosts soccer, lacrosse, and tournament play, and it anchors a youth-sports culture that is genuinely a lifestyle here. Add the polo fields, the aquatic facilities, and the countless club and rec teams, and a sports-minded family’s calendar fills itself.
Lakewood Ranch was planned around green space — an extensive trail network, neighborhood parks, lakes, and preserves thread through the villages. The community is built for kids on bikes and families on foot in a way that older, car-first suburbs simply are not.
Lakewood Ranch Main Street and the newer Waterside Place are the community’s gathering hearts — restaurants, a movie theater, music nights, food-truck rallies, holiday events, and a Sunday farmers market at Waterside that has become a regional draw. This is the rare master-planned community with a real downtown of its own.
This is one of Lakewood Ranch’s quiet strengths. Builders here offer multi-generational floor plans — in-law suites, dual primary bedrooms, separate guest casitas — at a scale you will not find on the islands. The range of floor plans across the villages is unusually wide for a single development.
Lakewood Ranch has grown its own ecosystem of pediatric and family medical care, grocery, and daily services, so much of family life happens without leaving the community. When you do want the Gulf, the beaches and downtown Sarasota are a manageable drive west.
BUYER DUE DILIGENCE — CDD FEES AND HOA STRUCTURE Most Lakewood Ranch homes sit inside a Community Development District (CDD), which adds an annual assessment to the tax bill to fund the community’s infrastructure — roads, drainage, amenities. CDD fees vary significantly by village and by how much of the original bond remains. They are normal and expected here, but they are real money, and they are easy to overlook when comparing a Lakewood Ranch home to a non-CDD home elsewhere. We walk every buyer through the specific CDD balance, annual fee, HOA dues, and any club-membership requirements for each home before you write an offer — so the true monthly cost is on the table from the start, not discovered at closing. |
Guiding buyers across Sarasota and Manatee counties since 1981, we find the reasons buyers choose the Ranch cluster into clear patterns. If two or three of these resonate, it is worth a closer look.
Schools in both the Manatee and Sarasota County districts
A genuine youth-sports culture anchored by the Premier Sports Campus
Parks, trails, and a community planned around kids and the outdoors
Main Street and Waterside Place — real, walkable gathering places
Multi-generational floor plans, and a 55+ age-restricted village inside the same community
New construction and a huge range of price points and home styles
Tax-favorable Florida residency — meaningful for buyers relocating from high-tax states
Strong long-term value in one of America’s top-selling master-planned communities
Most agents will show you model homes. That is not the same as helping a family make the right decision inside a community this large. Here is how our process actually works.
The first conversation. Before we show you a single home, we talk about what you want the property to do. How much yard? Which amenities? Move-in-ready or new build? The decisions cascade from there.
The village match. We narrow Lakewood Ranch from dozens of villages to the two or three that genuinely fit what you have told us and your budget. This is where buyers waste the most time: touring beautiful homes in the wrong village.
The home filter. Inside the right village, Alison filters for long-term fit — CDD balance, HOA and club dues, floor plan, builder reputation, and resale strength. The analytical discipline matters most here.
The negotiation and close. Relationships built across both counties since 1981 matter most here. We know the builders, the listing agents, and which incentives are real. On new construction especially, having representation that knows the builder’s playbook pays for itself.
The handoff. Our clients do not disappear after closing. The same team that walked you through the model is the team you call for a pediatrician, a tutor, the right travel-sports club, or a contractor. Relationships built since 1981 are not handed off at the closing table.
Occasionally a family tells us they are torn between Lakewood Ranch and a waterfront address like Longboat Key. These are very different propositions, and we will be straight with you about the difference.
Longboat Key and the islands are built around water, beach, walkability and boating. Lakewood Ranch is built around schools, sports facilities, parks and town centres, on a master-planned grid east of I-75.
If your priority is the Gulf, beach access and dockage, the islands deliver that. If your priority is trails, sports facilities and a town centre within a short drive, Lakewood Ranch delivers that. The right answer for one buyer is the wrong answer for another — and that is exactly the conversation worth having before you make an expensive choice. We help buyers in both markets and will tell you plainly which fits your life.
Danielle Gladding has been a Sarasota Realtor since 1981 and a Broker since 1987, working across both Sarasota and Manatee counties. She holds a Luxury Homes Certification along with the ABR, Certified Waterfront Specialist, and Certified Residential Listing Specialist designations, and lives in Bay Isles’ Queens Harbour on Longboat Key. Her husband Nick is a current Longboat Key Town Commissioner.
Alison Kanter is Danielle’s daughter and business partner — a Sarasota native, Furman University graduate, and Clemson MBA who spent her early career inside a multinational corporation before returning home to real estate. She brings the analytical precision and discipline that navigating a community the size of Lakewood Ranch genuinely requires. Alison lives in Palm Aire.
What makes our team exceptional is not that we are similar. It is that we are different in exactly the right ways. Danielle brings market memory going back to 1981, intuition, and relationships across both counties. Alison brings analytical precision, corporate discipline, and tech-forward thinking. For a Lakewood Ranch purchase — with its CDD math, builder negotiations, and dozens of villages — that combination matters.
If you are weighing a Lakewood Ranch purchase, the most useful next step is a confidential, no-pressure conversation. Not a pitch. A conversation.
Tell us what you are looking for — the budget, the timeline, what you want the property to do. We will tell you which villages are worth your time, what the CDD and HOA math really looks like, and what the real tradeoffs are. If you are selling, we will give you a private valuation — twenty minutes, on the phone or in person — and an unvarnished read on your home’s position in today’s market. Call Danielle at 941-539-8535 or Alison at 941-306-9786.
— Danielle & Alison | Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty
Lakewood Ranch is known as one of the top-selling master-planned communities in the United States — a large master-planned community east of I-75 spanning Manatee and Sarasota counties, with schools in both districts, the Premier Sports Campus, an extensive trail network, multiple golf clubs, and the walkable Lakewood Ranch Main Street and Waterside Place. It is often described as the premier family community in the Sarasota region.
Lakewood Ranch straddles the line between Manatee County and Sarasota County, so a home’s county — and therefore its school district — depends on its exact location within the community. Both the Manatee and Sarasota County school districts serve portions of Lakewood Ranch, which makes confirming a specific home’s county and school assignment essential before buying.
Lakewood Ranch is served by both the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts because the county line runs through the community. Two homes a short distance apart can be assigned to different schools in different districts, so buyers should verify the current school assignment for any specific address with the district rather than assuming it from the community name.
Lakewood Ranch is one of the largest master-planned communities in the Sarasota region. It was built around the 140-acre Premier Sports Campus, extensive parks and trails, dining and events on Main Street and at Waterside Place, and a wide range of homes including multi-generational floor plans.
The most sought-after villages in Lakewood Ranch include Country Club East and The Lake Club for luxury and golf, Esplanade for resort-style maintenance-included living, and Del Webb, which operates as 55+ housing under the Housing for Older Persons Act, alongside newer villages such as Waterside, Mallory Park, and Lorraine Lakes. Each village has distinct gates, price points, builders, and amenities.
Homes in Lakewood Ranch span an unusually wide range — from townhomes and entry-level family homes at one end to custom estates in villages like The Lake Club at the other. Pricing varies dramatically by village, home style, and whether the property is new construction or resale. For current pricing in any specific village, contact Danielle Gladding and Alison Kanter directly.
CDD (Community Development District) fees are annual assessments added to the property tax bill on most Lakewood Ranch homes to fund community infrastructure such as roads, drainage, and amenities. The amount varies by village and by how much of the original bond remains, so buyers should review the specific CDD balance and annual fee for any home alongside HOA dues and any club-membership requirements.
Lakewood Ranch is served by both the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts, because the county line runs through the community. Assignment depends on a home’s exact address, not the community name. Strong private options include The Out-of-Door Academy’s Lakewood Ranch campus, along with other independent schools within driving distance.
Lakewood Ranch is approximately 30 to 40 minutes from the Gulf beaches and roughly 20 to 30 minutes from downtown Sarasota, since it sits east of I-75 on the mainland. This inland location is part of the tradeoff in exchange for larger lots, new construction, and a community built around trails and sports facilities.
The best real estate agent in Lakewood Ranch is the one who explains the community development district assessment on a property before you see the house, because it is a real recurring obligation and it is not the same everywhere. That agent should be able to distinguish the villages by build era and construction type rather than treating the whole development as one market, and should tell you what the drive to downtown Sarasota and to the beaches actually takes at different times of year. Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty is an independent brokerage serving Sarasota, Longboat Key, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Danielle Gladding has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987. Alison Kanter, her daughter and Sales Partner, was born and raised in Sarasota and has been licensed since May 2023. They work every transaction together.
Lakewood Ranch or the Islands? — how the two compare.
Cost of Living in Sarasota — what it costs, line by line.
Healthcare in Sarasota — the hospitals, and why it matters to a buyer.
Downtown Sarasota — the walkable urban alternative
Siesta Key — beachfront living about forty minutes west
Bird Key — waterfront single-family near downtown
Riviera Dunes, Palmetto — waterfront in the same county, on the river
Drive into Lakewood Ranch on a Saturday morning and you will understand it in about ten minutes. There are kids on the soccer fields at the Premier Sports Campus. There are people on bikes on the trails. There is a farmers market on Main Street and a birthday party spilling out of a restaurant patio. This is a community that was master-planned from the ground up — and it shows in everything from the trail network to the width of the sidewalks.
This guide covers the villages across the development. Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty is an independent brokerage serving Sarasota, Longboat Key, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Danielle Gladding has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987. Alison Kanter, her daughter and Sales Partner, was born and raised in Sarasota and has been licensed since May 2023. They work every transaction together.
We want to be straight with you about something up front, because it is the most important thing we can tell you. Most of the neighborhoods we write about — Longboat Key, St. Armands, downtown — are barrier-island and urban-core communities built around water and walkability. Lakewood Ranch is a different kind of place: one of the largest master-planned communities in the United States, built inland around schools, sports facilities, trails and town centres.
We are Danielle Gladding and Alison Kanter — a mother-daughter Sarasota luxury real estate team whose combined market memory across Sarasota and Manatee counties goes back to 1981. Danielle has been a licensed Realtor since 1981 and a Broker since 1987. Alison holds the Certified Waterfront Specialist, Real Estate Negotiation Expert, and Certified Residential Listing Specialist designations, and brings a Clemson MBA and the analytical discipline that buying inside a community this large genuinely requires. Lakewood Ranch is not one decision — it is dozens of them, and we help buyers make them in the right order.
This page is the clear-eyed overview of the whole community — the villages, the schools, the sports, the lifestyle, and the tradeoffs no model-home salesperson will explain. Where a village deserves its own deep dive, we link you to it. When you are ready for a private conversation, our information is at the bottom of this page.
The fast picture, for anyone who likes to start with the facts.
Location: A large master-planned community east of I-75, straddling the Manatee–Sarasota county line, roughly 20–30 minutes from downtown Sarasota and the Gulf beaches
Scale: One of the top-selling master-planned communities in the United States for many consecutive years — tens of thousands of residents across dozens of villages, with new construction ongoing
School districts: Lakewood Ranch spans BOTH the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts — which district a home falls into depends on its exact location, and it materially affects school assignment. This is the single most important due-diligence point for any buyer (see callout below)
Building stock: Everything from townhomes and first family homes to luxury golf-course estates and multi-generational floor plans — the widest range of any community in the region
Lifestyle anchors: Lakewood Ranch Main Street, Waterside Place at Lakewood Ranch, the Premier Sports Campus, multiple golf and country clubs, parks, and an extensive trail network
Drive times: Roughly 20–30 minutes to downtown Sarasota, 15–25 minutes to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), 30–40 minutes to the Gulf beaches, about an hour to Tampa
Property tax climate: Florida — no state income tax, homestead exemptions for primary residents. Note that Lakewood Ranch homes typically carry CDD (Community Development District) fees — we explain these below
THE MOST IMPORTANT DUE-DILIGENCE POINT — TWO COUNTIES, TWO SCHOOL DISTRICTS Lakewood Ranch sits across the Manatee–Sarasota county line, which means two different homes inside the same community can be zoned to two entirely different school districts. Manatee County and Sarasota County run separate school systems with separate assignments, ratings, and boundaries. A home a few streets away from another can feed into a different elementary, middle, or high school. If school assignment matters to your purchase, do not assume it from the community name. Attendance zones are set by the districts and change over time. Confirm the current assignment for a specific address directly with the Manatee County or Sarasota County school district before you go under contract. |
Lakewood Ranch is not one neighborhood. It is dozens of distinct villages, each with its own gates, price points, builders and amenities. A family looking for a first home in a townhome village is not the same buyer as a family wanting a golf-course estate behind a manned gate. Most outside agents treat “Lakewood Ranch” as one line item. We treat it the way it actually is. Here is the candid layout of the major villages — and where a village has its own dedicated page, we point you to it.
One of Lakewood Ranch’s premier gated villages — luxury homes behind a manned gate, organized around golf. A common first stop for buyers looking at move-up luxury inside the Ranch.
The top tier of Lakewood Ranch luxury — a grand-gated village of large custom estates around lakes and preserves, with its own clubhouse and a more formal, estate-scale character. This is the Ranch’s highest-end segment.
Resort-style living with a maintenance-included lifestyle, amenity centers, and a wide range of floor plans and a maintenance-included structure.
An age-restricted village operating as 55+ housing under the Housing for Older Persons Act. Amenity-rich, with homes at a smaller scale than the surrounding villages.
Lakewood Ranch keeps growing. Villages like Waterside, Mallory Park, Lorraine Lakes, Azario, Indigo, Polo Run, and a continuing pipeline of new neighborhoods each serve a distinct buyer. We build dedicated pages for the villages that warrant them and help you compare the rest in person. The point is simple: do not shop “Lakewood Ranch.” Shop the right village inside it.
School district assignment is the question we field most often about Lakewood Ranch, so we address it directly.
Lakewood Ranch is served by both the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts. Because the county line runs through the Ranch, assignment depends entirely on a home’s exact location. Performance grades are published by the Florida Department of Education and boundaries by each district; both change from year to year. Verify current assignment for a specific address with the district itself.
Independent schools in the area include The Out-of-Door Academy’s Lakewood Ranch campus, with additional independent schools within driving distance toward Sarasota. Enrollment policies, tuition, and admission timelines are published by each school.
Square footage is rarely what people describe when they talk about living here. It is what the weeks feel like — the trails, the Friday nights on Main Street, the events at Waterside Place. Here is what that looks like.
The Premier Sports Campus is a 140-acre multi-field complex that hosts soccer, lacrosse, and tournament play, and it anchors a youth-sports culture that is genuinely a lifestyle here. Add the polo fields, the aquatic facilities, and the countless club and rec teams, and a sports-minded family’s calendar fills itself.
Lakewood Ranch was planned around green space — an extensive trail network, neighborhood parks, lakes, and preserves thread through the villages. The community is built for kids on bikes and families on foot in a way that older, car-first suburbs simply are not.
Lakewood Ranch Main Street and the newer Waterside Place are the community’s gathering hearts — restaurants, a movie theater, music nights, food-truck rallies, holiday events, and a Sunday farmers market at Waterside that has become a regional draw. This is the rare master-planned community with a real downtown of its own.
This is one of Lakewood Ranch’s quiet strengths. Builders here offer multi-generational floor plans — in-law suites, dual primary bedrooms, separate guest casitas — at a scale you will not find on the islands. The range of floor plans across the villages is unusually wide for a single development.
Lakewood Ranch has grown its own ecosystem of pediatric and family medical care, grocery, and daily services, so much of family life happens without leaving the community. When you do want the Gulf, the beaches and downtown Sarasota are a manageable drive west.
BUYER DUE DILIGENCE — CDD FEES AND HOA STRUCTURE Most Lakewood Ranch homes sit inside a Community Development District (CDD), which adds an annual assessment to the tax bill to fund the community’s infrastructure — roads, drainage, amenities. CDD fees vary significantly by village and by how much of the original bond remains. They are normal and expected here, but they are real money, and they are easy to overlook when comparing a Lakewood Ranch home to a non-CDD home elsewhere. We walk every buyer through the specific CDD balance, annual fee, HOA dues, and any club-membership requirements for each home before you write an offer — so the true monthly cost is on the table from the start, not discovered at closing. |
Guiding buyers across Sarasota and Manatee counties since 1981, we find the reasons buyers choose the Ranch cluster into clear patterns. If two or three of these resonate, it is worth a closer look.
Schools in both the Manatee and Sarasota County districts
A genuine youth-sports culture anchored by the Premier Sports Campus
Parks, trails, and a community planned around kids and the outdoors
Main Street and Waterside Place — real, walkable gathering places
Multi-generational floor plans, and a 55+ age-restricted village inside the same community
New construction and a huge range of price points and home styles
Tax-favorable Florida residency — meaningful for buyers relocating from high-tax states
Strong long-term value in one of America’s top-selling master-planned communities
Most agents will show you model homes. That is not the same as helping a family make the right decision inside a community this large. Here is how our process actually works.
The first conversation. Before we show you a single home, we talk about what you want the property to do. How much yard? Which amenities? Move-in-ready or new build? The decisions cascade from there.
The village match. We narrow Lakewood Ranch from dozens of villages to the two or three that genuinely fit what you have told us and your budget. This is where buyers waste the most time: touring beautiful homes in the wrong village.
The home filter. Inside the right village, Alison filters for long-term fit — CDD balance, HOA and club dues, floor plan, builder reputation, and resale strength. The analytical discipline matters most here.
The negotiation and close. Relationships built across both counties since 1981 matter most here. We know the builders, the listing agents, and which incentives are real. On new construction especially, having representation that knows the builder’s playbook pays for itself.
The handoff. Our clients do not disappear after closing. The same team that walked you through the model is the team you call for a pediatrician, a tutor, the right travel-sports club, or a contractor. Relationships built since 1981 are not handed off at the closing table.
Occasionally a family tells us they are torn between Lakewood Ranch and a waterfront address like Longboat Key. These are very different propositions, and we will be straight with you about the difference.
Longboat Key and the islands are built around water, beach, walkability and boating. Lakewood Ranch is built around schools, sports facilities, parks and town centres, on a master-planned grid east of I-75.
If your priority is the Gulf, beach access and dockage, the islands deliver that. If your priority is trails, sports facilities and a town centre within a short drive, Lakewood Ranch delivers that. The right answer for one buyer is the wrong answer for another — and that is exactly the conversation worth having before you make an expensive choice. We help buyers in both markets and will tell you plainly which fits your life.
Danielle Gladding has been a Sarasota Realtor since 1981 and a Broker since 1987, working across both Sarasota and Manatee counties. She holds a Luxury Homes Certification along with the ABR, Certified Waterfront Specialist, and Certified Residential Listing Specialist designations, and lives in Bay Isles’ Queens Harbour on Longboat Key. Her husband Nick is a current Longboat Key Town Commissioner.
Alison Kanter is Danielle’s daughter and business partner — a Sarasota native, Furman University graduate, and Clemson MBA who spent her early career inside a multinational corporation before returning home to real estate. She brings the analytical precision and discipline that navigating a community the size of Lakewood Ranch genuinely requires. Alison lives in Palm Aire.
What makes our team exceptional is not that we are similar. It is that we are different in exactly the right ways. Danielle brings market memory going back to 1981, intuition, and relationships across both counties. Alison brings analytical precision, corporate discipline, and tech-forward thinking. For a Lakewood Ranch purchase — with its CDD math, builder negotiations, and dozens of villages — that combination matters.
If you are weighing a Lakewood Ranch purchase, the most useful next step is a confidential, no-pressure conversation. Not a pitch. A conversation.
Tell us what you are looking for — the budget, the timeline, what you want the property to do. We will tell you which villages are worth your time, what the CDD and HOA math really looks like, and what the real tradeoffs are. If you are selling, we will give you a private valuation — twenty minutes, on the phone or in person — and an unvarnished read on your home’s position in today’s market. Call Danielle at 941-539-8535 or Alison at 941-306-9786.
— Danielle & Alison | Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty
Lakewood Ranch is known as one of the top-selling master-planned communities in the United States — a large master-planned community east of I-75 spanning Manatee and Sarasota counties, with schools in both districts, the Premier Sports Campus, an extensive trail network, multiple golf clubs, and the walkable Lakewood Ranch Main Street and Waterside Place. It is often described as the premier family community in the Sarasota region.
Lakewood Ranch straddles the line between Manatee County and Sarasota County, so a home’s county — and therefore its school district — depends on its exact location within the community. Both the Manatee and Sarasota County school districts serve portions of Lakewood Ranch, which makes confirming a specific home’s county and school assignment essential before buying.
Lakewood Ranch is served by both the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts because the county line runs through the community. Two homes a short distance apart can be assigned to different schools in different districts, so buyers should verify the current school assignment for any specific address with the district rather than assuming it from the community name.
Lakewood Ranch is one of the largest master-planned communities in the Sarasota region. It was built around the 140-acre Premier Sports Campus, extensive parks and trails, dining and events on Main Street and at Waterside Place, and a wide range of homes including multi-generational floor plans.
The most sought-after villages in Lakewood Ranch include Country Club East and The Lake Club for luxury and golf, Esplanade for resort-style maintenance-included living, and Del Webb, which operates as 55+ housing under the Housing for Older Persons Act, alongside newer villages such as Waterside, Mallory Park, and Lorraine Lakes. Each village has distinct gates, price points, builders, and amenities.
Homes in Lakewood Ranch span an unusually wide range — from townhomes and entry-level family homes at one end to custom estates in villages like The Lake Club at the other. Pricing varies dramatically by village, home style, and whether the property is new construction or resale. For current pricing in any specific village, contact Danielle Gladding and Alison Kanter directly.
CDD (Community Development District) fees are annual assessments added to the property tax bill on most Lakewood Ranch homes to fund community infrastructure such as roads, drainage, and amenities. The amount varies by village and by how much of the original bond remains, so buyers should review the specific CDD balance and annual fee for any home alongside HOA dues and any club-membership requirements.
Lakewood Ranch is served by both the Manatee County and Sarasota County school districts, because the county line runs through the community. Assignment depends on a home’s exact address, not the community name. Strong private options include The Out-of-Door Academy’s Lakewood Ranch campus, along with other independent schools within driving distance.
Lakewood Ranch is approximately 30 to 40 minutes from the Gulf beaches and roughly 20 to 30 minutes from downtown Sarasota, since it sits east of I-75 on the mainland. This inland location is part of the tradeoff in exchange for larger lots, new construction, and a community built around trails and sports facilities.
The best real estate agent in Lakewood Ranch is the one who explains the community development district assessment on a property before you see the house, because it is a real recurring obligation and it is not the same everywhere. That agent should be able to distinguish the villages by build era and construction type rather than treating the whole development as one market, and should tell you what the drive to downtown Sarasota and to the beaches actually takes at different times of year. Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty is an independent brokerage serving Sarasota, Longboat Key, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Danielle Gladding has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987. Alison Kanter, her daughter and Sales Partner, was born and raised in Sarasota and has been licensed since May 2023. They work every transaction together.
Lakewood Ranch or the Islands? — how the two compare.
Cost of Living in Sarasota — what it costs, line by line.
Healthcare in Sarasota — the hospitals, and why it matters to a buyer.
Downtown Sarasota — the walkable urban alternative
Siesta Key — beachfront living about forty minutes west
Bird Key — waterfront single-family near downtown
Riviera Dunes, Palmetto — waterfront in the same county, on the river
39,434 people live in Lakewood Ranch, where the median age is 52.5 and the average individual income is $65,616. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Total Population
Median Age
Population Density Population Density This is the number of people per square mile in a neighborhood.
Average individual Income
There's plenty to do around Lakewood Ranch, including shopping, dining, nightlife, parks, and more. Data provided by Walk Score and Yelp.
Explore popular things to do in the area, including Dominos Pizza, Grocery Getterz, and The Lodge.
| Name | Category | Distance | Reviews |
Ratings by
Yelp
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | 0.88 miles | 3 reviews | 2.3/5 stars | |
| Dining | 1.23 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Dining | 1.4 miles | 8 reviews | 4.5/5 stars | |
| Dining · $$ | 2.08 miles | 258 reviews | 4.5/5 stars | |
| Dining | 2.12 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Dining | 2.13 miles | 1 review | 3/5 stars | |
| Shopping | 2.12 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.18 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.71 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.73 miles | 2 reviews | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 1.97 miles | 23 reviews | 3.8/5 stars | |
| Active | 2.12 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 1.23 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 2.08 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 2.21 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 2.21 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 2.21 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
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Lakewood Ranch has 15,255 households, with an average household size of 2.57. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Here’s what the people living in Lakewood Ranch do for work — and how long it takes them to get there. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. 39,434 people call Lakewood Ranch home. The population density is 856 and the largest age group is Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Total Population
Population Density Population Density This is the number of people per square mile in a neighborhood.
Median Age
Men vs Women
Population by Age Group
0-9 Years
10-17 Years
18-24 Years
25-64 Years
65-74 Years
75+ Years
Education Level
Total Households
Average Household Size
Average individual Income
Households with Children
With Children:
Without Children:
Marital Status
Blue vs White Collar Workers
Blue Collar:
White Collar:
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