The Meadows is an established master-planned community east of downtown Sarasota, started in 1974 on a vision of living where you play, and built out by Taylor Woodrow into the 1990s with a deliberate mix of condos, villas, garden homes, and single-family residences (The Meadows Community Association, 2026; Wikipedia, 2026).
The setting is the draw: lakes, mature landscaping, and miles of walking and biking trails wind through preserves, and The Meadows Country Club carries 54 holes of golf across its courses, with a separate public Meadows Golf Club also on the property (The Meadows Community Association, 2026). Marketing materials describe low HOA fees and no CDD, which should be confirmed per parcel and subassociation.
Because the community is layered with many condo and villa subassociations alongside single-family streets, the carrying cost and the diligence change a lot by building. On the condos in particular, Florida milestone inspection and structural reserve rules now apply, so reserve funding, roof age, and systems drive value and can mean a special assessment in an underfunded building.
The pitch is an established, amenity-rich master plan close to downtown Sarasota, University Town Center, and the Gulf beaches. The work is sorting condo from villa from single-family, and verifying the milestone status, reserves, fees, flood zone, and insurance for the exact home before you fall for a setting.