Look closely at local “for sale” or “for rent” ads and you will see something new. For homes many miles inland from the beach, bays or rivers, landlords are mentioning something besides shelling, shopping and the arts—boat docks.

Waterfront property has “come a long way” from the Gulf of Mexico and the natural waters flowing to and from it. Waterfront also has come a long way from canals, decorative and stormwater management ponds, and water hazards on golf courses.

A development trend these days in Southwest Florida features lakes so big that motorboats have loads of room to cruise, pull water skiers, stop at a marina for a country club-style lunch or dinner—or whatever else boaters love to do anywhere else. Plus, you have the opportunity to have a dock in your own front yard or back yard.

The trend is so pronounced that pioneer Bonita Springs-based marine contractor Ben Nelson says his namesake firm now does 20 percent of its business at big-water subdivisions such as Miromar Lakes, WildBlue, Esplanade Lake Club and Corkscrew Shores, all in Lee County. At some of the premier sites, the lakes are as massive as some entire golf subdivisions, and many times as large as the 170-acre Naples Botanical Garden, just for perspective.

The projects have one thing in common: They all spring from rock and earth-mining operations that dug massive holes that in time filled with water. One big water project, a few miles south of Lee County in North Naples, is aptly named The Quarry. And several more neighborhoods with water accents are coming to past and present earth mines off Bonita Beach Road, east of Interstate 75. Thus, the notion that fully loaded dump trucks hauling rock and fill dirt are building the waterfront communities of the future—where their trips start, not end—is coming to life.

THANK NATURE

Natural underground springs maintain a fresh circulation that keeps the lakes sparkling clean and swimmable. It is that fresh water that attracted one resident, Chris Kellogg, a lifelong boater from Maryland, to WildBlue on Corkscrew Road. Compared to salt water, fresh water is cleaner and easier on boats and equipment, he observes. Plus, Kellogg notes, there is no threat of red tide or blue-green algae.

Nelson speculates the appeal of the communities is the combination of boating with a country club lifestyle with dining and club sports at a central, convenient location. Real estate agent Adnan Dedic of John R. Wood Properties offers a twist: “The appeal of these communities is buyers can enjoy the Florida lifestyle without having to go to the beaches.”

He adds, “Developers bring a little bit of the ‘up North’ lifestyle—boating on lakes—and combine it with our lifestyle, offering the ability to boat, fish, jet ski and do water sports … It offers the ability to bring the community together and create relationships that wouldn’t be created if there weren’t a lake there; sunset cruises with dinner and wine, an early morning fishing trip to catch some bass, or even get multiple families together to go out for tubing and water skiing!”

One more point: These communities, despite deep inland locations, boast prime proximity to learning, culture and sports at Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida SouthWestern College, loads of shopping and tons of dining.

A QUICK TOUR

Miromar Lakes features 700 acres of fresh water, including three miles of beach and two marked slalom water ski courses. The developer jokes that residents face a tough decision: homes on the beach or with boats of up to 23 feet in their back yards? When a new showcase condo enclave, Capri, is completed, Miromar will have three marinas with standard services and even sightseeing cruises—plus on-site championship golf—all next door to FGCU.

 Planned amenities at Esplanade Lake Club on Alico Road, with a 352-acre lake, include standard country club fare plus day spa, court sports and bocce ball, waterfront walking trail and space for meetings and socializing. Also touted is a full-time, on-site lifestyle manager to plan special events, parties and gatherings for residents.

At WildBlue, which covers some 3,000 acres, there are more than 850 acres of lakes for everything from sedate swimming and fishing to exhilarating water skiing. Southwest Florida International Airport is close enough to see but not hear air traffic. All lots are for single-family homes, with sales and construction handled by the developer of the area you select. A beach club with a marina, gym, sports and dining is in the works.

Corkscrew Shores’ sales since 2014 have been so strong that only two of 648 lots remained available in January. Its 240 acres of lakes are open to non-motorized boating only, with the developer citing solitude among its selling points, alongside no community development fees and full country club amenities in a guard-gated setting.  

So there you have it. Big-time waterfront property where you might least expect it. And it’s all in our backyard.

Jeff Lytle is the retired editorial page editor and TV host from the Naples Daily News. He now lives in Bonita Springs.