Wild Blue at Waterside

Wild Blue at Waterside began with an unusually generous land plan. Stock Development laid out the community across roughly 550 acres on the east side of Lorraine Road, then committed more than half of it to lakes, preserves, and open natural space, threading approximately 505 single-family homesites through what remained. Sales launched in 2023, and additional homesites have been released in phases since. What sets Wild Blue apart within Waterside, the Sarasota County side of Lakewood Ranch, is the pairing of that natural setting with an ambitious amenity program. The 13-acre Midway Sports Park is already open, trails wind along lakes and wetlands, and a substantial clubhouse campus is under construction with an opening planned for fall 2026. Six regional builders — rather than a single production builder — shape the streetscapes, so homes vary in footprint and detail from one lot to the next. The result is a community that feels settled into its landscape even while it is still being built: kayaks on the water, pickleball underway, and models open for touring as new phases release. For anyone weighing Waterside's newer villages, Wild Blue is the one organized around water, wellness, and room to breathe.

Homes in Wild Blue come from six builders: Stock Luxury Homes, Stock Custom Homes, Lee Wetherington Homes, John Cannon Homes, AR Homes by Arthur Rutenberg, and Anchor Builders. Homesites are offered in 64-foot, 78-foot, and 90-foot widths, with estate homesites ranging up to a full acre. Single-family residences generally run from just over 2,300 to more than 4,000 square feet, while estate homes start above 4,500 square feet; most plans offer three to four bedrooms with two- to four-car garages. The architecture leans coastal — Stock collaborated with South Florida Architecture on its designs, and early coverage described cleaner lines, lighter colors, and a British West Indies sensibility in place of the Mediterranean look common in older villages. By early 2025, sixteen furnished model homes were open for touring, and Stock has since introduced new modern elevations as phases release.

Open today: the 13-acre Midway Sports Park, which broke ground in June 2024 and is now operational per Wild Blue's official site. It includes six tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, a basketball court, a sports pro shop, a playground, two dog parks, a kayak launch, a lakefront parklet, and a gathering lawn — and it is shared with neighboring Shellstone, the adjacent Homes by Towne community. Miles of lakeside and preserve trails are also open, along with a wetland overlook and boardwalk, picnic areas with grilling stations, and shaded pavilions. Under construction: the community's resort-inspired clubhouse, described on Wild Blue's official site as about 30,000 square feet of combined indoor and outdoor space with an opening planned for fall 2026. Plans call for indoor and outdoor dining, an outdoor bar and grill, a resort-style pool and separate lap pool, a fitness studio with workout classrooms, a golf simulator, a yoga lawn, and a nine-hole putting course. Worth knowing: there is no golf course here — the golf element is the simulator and putting course. Residents use a community mobile app for event registration and court reservations.

Days here tend to organize themselves around water and open air: a kayak or paddleboard launch on the community's lakes, a loop on the preserve trails past the wetland boardwalk, a morning match at Midway Sports Park. Waterside Place carries the social calendar beyond the neighborhood — a Sunday farmers market, lakefront restaurants, and performances tied to The Players Centre's presence in the district. In season, polo matches run directly across Lorraine Road at the Sarasota Polo Club. When the pull of the city wins out, downtown Sarasota's bayfront, theaters, and dining are a straightforward drive west, with Siesta Key's sand a little farther on.