New owners aim to maintain charm of Sarasota property

A pledge from buyer to seller to maintain much of a bayfront property's park-like setting when building a new home was key to a $5 million real estate deal in Sarasota recently.

The 2.42-acre wooded retreat at 3222 Old Oak Drive in Shoreland Woods was for decades home to Sarasota's Luer family, who built a 3,600-square-foot house in 1956. Carlyle Luer, who helped found Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in the 1970s and guided the organization toward an emphasis on orchid and epiphyte research, died in 2019 at the age of 97. Luer was also the first board-certified surgeon in Sarasota County in 1953 and ran a medical practice in the city for nearly 25 years.

The same mature oak trees, orchids and bayfront views that appealed to the Luer family since the 1950s also appealed to the young family that bought the property, the sales agents said, though they plan to build anew while retaining an old-Florida look for the land and the home.

The buyers and sellers were represented by the Linda Driggs-Sara Boudarga team of Michael Saunders & Co.

“We could not have found a more perfect new owner,” Driggs said in a statement from the real estate company. “This family intends on raising their children among the majestic oaks and fishing in the bay as the previous family did.”

Boudarga said the new owners plan to reuse portions of the original six-bedroom Luer home in the construction of their new home. A release from Michael Saunders & Co. said the Luers are pleased the new owners have preservation in their plans.

“We showed that property quite a bit, but a lot of people wanted to tear down all the trees and build a huge house,” Boudarga said in a statement. “The new owners want to preserve all of it. This is such a wonderful collaboration and made everyone happy.”