New organic grocery store, more restaurants coming to 3 Lakewood Ranch developments
By JAMES A. JONES JR.
Bradenton Herald
Published: Feb 24, 2022

LAKEWOOD RANCH Three major commercial projects underway at Lakewood Ranch are expected to satisfy the hunger for more restaurants east of Interstate 75.

Those projects include Center Point at Waterside, Waterside Place and Fruitville Commons.

Already announced for Center Point, a multi-use development on 50 acres, south of University Parkway and east of Lakewood ranch Boulevard, are a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Olivia’s Italian restaurant, Owens Fish Camp, and a McDonald’s restaurant.

Added to the mix is a Chamberlin’s natural foods grocery, that Brett Hutchens, president of Casto Southeast Realty Services, announced Wednesday at a meeting of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance.

Chamberlin’s was founded in 1935 in Central Florida.

“I think there is a niche in Lakewood Ranch to be served by Chamberlin’s,” Hutchens told a crowd that filled the main ballroom at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.

Casto, which also built Lakewood Ranch Main Street, the community’s original town center, is known for its mixed-use developments. Something new for Casto at Center Point is a 70,000-square-foot medical office building which was the first building constructed on the site.

Owens Fish Camp should have its certificate of occupancy by September, and the McDonald’s should be completed in June, Hutchens said.

Casto is in talks with two other companies to bring restaurants to Center Point.

The goal is to balance the cuisines, Hutchens said. “It’s going to be a fun place.”

Center Point should be completed by the third quarter of 2023, Hutchens said.

Sharing the dais at Wednesday’s meeting with Hutchens were Kurt Boylston, president of Lakewood Ranch Commercial, and Keith Gelder, president of Stock Luxury Apartment Living.

Boylston talked about the development of Waterside Place, the new town center that recently opened in Lakewood Ranch’s first village in Sarasota County. The new village, Waterside, is planned for more than 5,000 housing units.

Waterside Place contains 120,000-square-feet of commercial and retail space, about 60% of which is already leased.

Among restaurants announced for Waterside Place are Agave Bandido, Good Liquid Brewing Company, Kore, an Asian-inspired restaurant featuring Korean barbecue, Osteria 500, an Italian restaurant, and Forked at Waterside.

One of the main reasons that developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch decided to develop Waterside Place was to relieve the pressure on Lakewood Ranch Main Street as the master-planned community grew so rapidly, Boylston said.

In addition to drawing from other communities, Waterside Place will draw from the 2,000 housing units just a short walk away.

FRUITVILLE COMMONS

The third commercial development at Lakewood Ranch, Fruitville Commons, is being built on 42 acres east of I-75 at Fruitville Road.

It combines a walkable development of upscale luxury apartments, boutique hotels, office park and retail shops, surrounding a common green space. Citria, the luxury apartment enclave by Stock Luxury Apartment Living, is now leasing, Gelder said.

Tenants include a pre-school, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, Paddy Wagon Irish Pub, Dunkin’ Donuts, a Big Top Brewery location, Irma’s Tacos, Craft Beer & Tequila Bar and more.

“Our primary motivation was construction of the Citria apartments,” Gelder said.

In most new apartment projects, tenants are largely drawn from the local or regional area. But with the influx of new residents during the pandemic, they are literally coming from everywhere in the United States, Gelder said.

Although each of the new commercial developments will have their share of restaurants, all are compatible, and help eliminate the shortfall of places to eat, Boylston said.

James A. Jones Jr. covers business news for the Bradenton Herald. Drafted into the Army in 1966, he served in the Vietnam War as a Signal officer. He is the author of “Oh, Darling!” Choices and Struggle in the Age of Sputnik, the Vietnam War and the New Millennium.”