Westlake Estates is a small, quiet single-residential neighborhood on the north edge of Gulf Gate in South Sarasota, tucked west of South Beneva Road and reached via Fox Run Road. It is a community of 73 homes with no through traffic, since Fox Run Road was walled off from its former link north to Ashton Road, and most home sites sit on cul-de-sacs off Fox Run Road and Creeping Hammock Drive (Sarasota Bay Real Estate, 2019).
The land was a former orange grove, and some fruit trees and the Australian Pines once planted as a frost and wind buffer still remain, giving the enclave a green, settled feel. The Red Bug Slough Preserve sits along the northern border, and the community holds an easement for direct walking access to its trails, playground, picnic shelters, and fishing pier.
Westlake Estates was developed starting in 1978, with many of its residences completed through the 1980s, on large lots spacious enough that many homes carry a backyard pool. Homes here are mostly three-bedroom, two-bath single-family residences in the roughly 1,480 to 2,100 square foot range, covered by deed restrictions that help preserve property values (Sarasota Bay Real Estate, 2019).
The pitch is a small established enclave in a strong Gulf Gate location: low dues, a preserve at the back door, and quick access to Interstate 75, Clark Road, and the Gulf Gate shops and dining. The work is reading the condition of a 1980s home honestly, including roof age and the insurance and flood math, before you fall for the setting.
