Transaction completed in December
Sarasota County has acquired property on Winson Avenue in Englewood as part of the county’s ongoing commitment to acquire parkland under the county’s Land Acquisition and Management Program (LAMP), county staff announced this week.
The closing date was Dec. 18, 2025, a news release says; the purchase price was $750,000.
The 0.48-acre parcel will enable staff to expand the county-owned Indian Mound Park and enhance public access to Lemon Bay, the county news release adds. The site includes approximately 105 feet of shoreline, presenting opportunities for fishing, sightseeing and birdwatching, the release notes.
During the July 11, 2024 meeting of the county’s Parks Advisory and Recreation Council (PARC) meeting, the minutes show, county staff discussed with the members the potential acquisition of two parcels on Winson Ave. in Englewood. The first, the minutes say, was “a 0.68-acre property” that included a single-family home, dock and 100 feet of shoreline.” That statement appears to have referred to the parcel whose purchase was announced this week.
A county graphic attached to the news release about the acquisition shows the boat dock; however, a photo on Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst’s website makes it clear that the dock suffered heavy damage during the 2024 storm season. Some of the shoreline could have eroded, as well, as a result of the strikes on the coast by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024.
The goal with the purchase, staff told the PARC members, was to expand access to the water and boating, which has been a priority of the County Commission.
The Property Appraiser’s Office records listed Anne G. Hammond as the former owner of the property located at 200 Winson Ave. She acquired it on Nov. 7, 2025, the records point out. Prior to that, Peter W. Garrett had owned it since April 2004.
A single-family home built in 1968 is located on the parcel, the Property Appraiser Office’s records further note.
A document that The Sarasota News Leader received through a public records request indicates that Anne and Edward Hammond of Oakland, Maine, nominated the property for the county’s Land Acquisition and Management Program, noting on the form that it has access to water and open space and that it is adjacent to existing public lands. The News Leader could find no date on that document.
Last year, Property Appraiser Furst’s staff gave the 200 Winson Ave. parcel a market value of $435,600.
A 2014 nomination form that the News Leader also received through its public records request, submitted by a member of the public to county staff, cited the property’s immediate adjacency to the boat trailer parking on Lemon Bay that is provided in Indian Mound Park.
The individual who filled out that form wrote, “Indian Mound Park boat-truck-trailers overflow the parking spaces on weekends. During season it is close to chaotic.”
The writer added that the number of users of the facility have grown “since the parking area was created from [Intracoastal Waterway] dredging in the 1960’s. … Clearly, the fishing population has multiplied in the last 50 years while, of course, the parking spaces have remained the same.”
The writer further noted, “My opinion is that neighborhood resistance to this acquisition would be limited because it would only [affect] the property directly across the street from the Park and the vacant property on the north side of 200 Winson [Ave.].”
The 7-acre Indian Mound Park stands at 210 Winson Ave., the county’s website says. It is known for birding, boating, paddling, fishing and swimming, the website adds. That park has boat ramps for both motorized and non-motorized vessel, the website also points out.
Adding the 200 Winson Ave. property to the county’s parkland inventory is “a meaningful investment in a waterfront park that will serve both today’s residents and future generations,” Nicole Rissler, director of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department, pointed out in the news release.
“Funding for the acquisition was provided through the Neighborhood Parkland Acquisition Program (NPP),” the release explains. Both the NPP and the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP) “are voter-approved, taxpayer-funded programs under the Sarasota County Land Acquisition and Management Program,” the release notes.
The program was created “to acquire and preserve lands that provide public access, support recreation and meet identified community needs while expanding existing parks and public lands,” the release explains.
For more information about the Sarasota County Land Acquisition and Management Program, visit bit.ly/landacquisitions.