Day 361 – Beyond the Obvious in Sanford FL

Look for the little things in Sanford

Today I wanted to take a different look at Sanford. I have been focusing a lot on buildings and”the obvious” that is right in front of me. It is also quite fun though to look for details when walking around. Can you guess where any of these pictures were taken?

Sanford FL

Sanford FL

Sanford FL

Day 334 – Naval Air Station Memorial Sanford

Naval Air Station Memorial

Located by the airport in Sanford, the Naval Air Station Memorial reminds of Sanford’s history as home to additional naval aviation traning facilities during World War II. It was soon converted to fighter plane training for many fighter pilots that served on aircraft carriers in the Pacific.

Day 328 – Sanford 365 in the Orlando Sentinel

Sanford 365 Blog in Orlando Sentinel

Yay! I was very excited when I received a call last week about a potential article featuring the Sanford365 Blog in the Orlando Sentinel! Of course, I agreed to be interviewed and sure enough, the article was published today in the Orlando Sentinel.

Here is a link to the article.

Today's Orlando Sentinel

This is obviously a huge success for the site and I had a grin on my face most of the day ) Almost 1,000 people visited the blog because of this article so far and I got very good feedback from everyone, thank you so much at this point!!

Only 37 more days to go until completion of the challege! But as you can read in the article, I will  keep this blog alive once day 365 passes because I am truly enjoying to write about Sanford and the community. It just won’t be every single day…

Day 324 – New Store Fawn and new Location of Cindys Dance Studio Sanford FL

New Store in Bishop Block Building

It’s always exciting to see new businesses and stores coming into Sanford. One of the newest stores will be Fawn in the Bishop Block Building. You can check out their web site here. This unique kids store is scheduled to open beginning of September 2009 and will offer high quality fashion for infants, toddlers, kids, moms and moms-to-be. There will also be “recycled clothing” for kids available. Great idea, with kids growing out of clothes within a season this is a great way to save money in today’s economy.

New Location of Cindys Dance Studio

Just as much as I like to see new businesses come in, I also like to see businesses growing and expanding.

Cindy’s Dance Studio will soon be located in the Imperial Opera House Building (originally opened in 1910 and constructed in Florentine Palazzo style). This building is located across from the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center.

Here is Cindy’s Dance Studio’s old/current address info:

Cindy’s Dance Studio
202 E 1st Street
Sanford, FL 32771-1350
(407) 324-3999

The new address will be 119 S. Magnolia Avenue, Sanford FL 32771.

Cindy’s Dance Studio offers all kind of dance classes, from ballet and tap to hip hop to jazz dance.

Cindy's Dance Studio New Location

Day 323 – Seminole Community College Sanford

Seminole Community College Entrance Sign

Founded in and with 86 different degrees and certificates, Seminole Community College is a major education facility in Central Florida. Recently it was announced that SCC will now also offer a 4 year baccalaureate degree (Interior Design starts in January 2010). That is exciting news for Sanford and Seminole County and will make this area even more attractive for students in the future. The college will now certainly also look into offering more 4 year degrees. I am sure Interior Design will be a hit, I have heard good things about the AS degree that is currently offered here at SCC in Interior Design – as ValenciaCC Graphic and Web Design Alumni I want to mention though that VCC still rocks for those degrees ;o)

Seminole Community College is currently asking students and the public to name the college. The new name will take the place of the old, “Seminole Community College”. So if you have any ideas, don’t be shy and submit yours at http://www.scc-fl.edu/namechange/ On the page you will also find details about the reasons for the name change. Deadline is September 1, 2009. The name will be selected in Spring of 2010.

At the Sanford Lake Mary Campus

I have taken some Community Education classes at SCC, one of them was Interior Decorating, the other Salsa Dancing. Both classes were great fun. I was sad to just see that Community Education at SCC has been cut due to a lower budget. Hopefully those classes will be offered again in the future, they are a true enrichment to the community!

BTW, new classes start this month (end of August 2009).

Here is the information about the different campuses of Seminole Community:

Sanford/Lake Mary Campus
100 Weldon Boulevard
Sanford, FL 32773
Phone: 407.708.4722

Heathrow Campus
1055 AAA Drive
Heathrow, FL 32746

Altamonte Springs Campus
850 South State Road 434
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714

Oviedo Campus
2505 Lockwood Boulevard
Oviedo, FL 32765

Campus Map

Day 313 – Sanford FL City Hall

Sanford City Hall

The Sanford City Hall is located right across from the Courthouse on Park Avenue by Lake Monroe. I went here today because I had to have the water turned back on for one of the houses we are managing.

More information about the city of Sanford and its services can be found as usual on their web site.

Day 312 – Lake Mary versus Sanford FL

Lake Mary City of Lakes Sign

I’m often asked why I write so much about Lake Mary when this blog has its main theme established as a blog about Sanford. The answer is simple: Sanford and Lake Mary are basically “siblings”. They are so close that it is sometimes even hard to determine where one ends and the other starts. Especially in the area in Sanford where I live we are very close to Lake Mary. Just take a look at the map on the bottom to see where the official Zip Code lines divide Sanford and Lake Mary.

Zip Code Map of Sanford and Lake Mary

I personally give Sanford more importance, not only because I live here but also because it is the county’s seat and because it does have a lot more to offer than Lake Mary. However, Lake Mary has gotten a lot more media attention, especially when it was named the 4th best place to live in the US (by CNN Money Magazine in 2007). I think Sanford would have deserved a ranking here too, but oh well, those are all statistics and when it comes to life and lifestyle, everyone is different. Now I don’t want to offend Lake Mary fans in any way (after all, I work in Lake Mary and enjoy some of its nightlife on a regular basis), I am just trying to point out some of the points that make me choose Lake Mary’s older brother, Sanford, as the place to live in Central Florida:

Sanford FL has

• a beautiful historic district (yes, lake Mary has a little downtown area as well but compare those two and you’ll see what I mean)
• a beautiful lake and idyllic river that connects to the Atlantic ocean
• its own mall
• its own college (Seminole Community College)
• its own international airport
• its own hospital
• its own zoo
• the largest flea market in America
• newer homes for lower prices

When it comes to lifestyle, the proximity of these two cities makes life quite comparable: you’d visit the same stores, the same restaurants, bars and local attractions. With few exceptions, even many of the schools that kids visit are the same (whether they live in Sanford or Lake Mary). Real estate prices in Sanford are lower than in Lake Mary, and again, here you often only pay for the address. Of course, Sanford has also a lot of upscale areas. In fact, comparing average home prices of the West side of Sanford (West of I-4) with Lake Mary, West Sanford has a much higher average.

Despite all these arguments though, keep in mind that Sanford and Lake Mary are sometimes almost interchangeable. When I talk to customers I always refer to the Sanford/Lake Mary area. Maybe we should just hyphenate or merge the names? Any suggestions?

Day 311 – Gateway at Riverwalk Condos Sanford FL

Gateway at Riverwalk Condos Sanford FL

Sanford is not necessarily known to be a “condo city”. Even though there have been more town home developments recently (due to a lack of space and higher land prices), Sanford is a city of single family homes, some of them beautiful Victorian houses in the historic district. So it was a big surprise when the construction of the Gateway at Riverwalk Condo complex was announced. Many people were upset about it because, being a high rise building, this complex was going to block Lake Monroe with its spectacular views from the historic district. There was a big discussion and many tried to stop the construction. Nevertheless, the condos were built (finished in 2007).

Gateway at Riverwalk Condos Sanford FL

Whether it was bad timing (peak of market), the initial high prices (close to $1 million for penthouse) or just the fact that Sanford just isn’t a “condo city”, Gateway at Riverwalk has not been a real estate success. In fact phase 2, 3 and 4 of the project were stopped before they even started and to my knowledge only a dozen of the 63 units were sold. So now there is this huge condo building standing in a prime location right by the Riverwalk. Of course, that doesn’t mean that construction for the new phases won’t start at some point (I am assuming once all the units are sold).

To their defense though, I can see what the developers had envisioned. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy those breathtaking views of Lake Monroe and at the same time live in an urban setting in the middle of a cute, cozy and charming town that promises a wonderful future? I wish the plan had worked out because obviously this would have brought more people into Sanford, thereby strengthening current businesses and attracting new ones (including the ones that were meant to occupy the retail spaces on the ground floor of the buildings). There is still hope though. As the market slowly recovers, so will Gateway at Riverwalk. With more reasonable prices (now starting in the 180s), this project can still be very attractive for home buyers in Sanford and a great alternative to Sanford’s historic city living (admittedly, despite those lake views I’d personally prefer the old charming houses under huge oak trees that still offer you the convenient urban lifestyle, I’m just not into condo living). Let’s see what the future holds for the Gateway at Riverwalk condos.

Want to check out whast’s currently for sale here? Click the link to browse condos for sale at Gateway at Riverwalk Condos Sanford FL.

Day 310 – Sanford International Airport

Sanford International Airport off Lake Mary Blvd

Sanford does not only have its own lake, marina, zoo, historic district and college, it also has its very own international airport! And that right off Lake Mary Boulevard, conveniently located for anyone who lives in Sanford or Lake Mary.

I have never flown out of the Sanford International Airport but I have been here numerous times to rent cars when we go on “road trips”. It just makes so much more sense to simply drive 15 minutes with hardly any traffic to a small easy to overlook airport to pick up your car than driving 45 minutes into a super congested area…

Flights from Sanford International Airport are still on the pricier side when it comes to flying to Europe (which would be my main interest). Iceland Air offers flights over Reykjavik into several European cities but the rates are still high up there.However, other airlines offer great deals on national flights from here, for example round trips for under $80.00 to Knoxville, TN or Lexington, KY.

Sanford International Airport

I have high hopes though for this airport and its future flight traffic. There is still lots of room to grow and everyone who has been to both Orlando and Sanford International Airport will most likely agree that flying out of Sanford is a much less stressful experience than flying out of Orlando.

Needless to say, the Orlando Sanford International airport has and will continue to bring economic growth to our area.

Airlines at this airport include (as of July 2009):

• Allegiant Air (flying to Allentown, PA; Appleton, WI; Bangor, ME; Cedar Rapids, IA; Chattanooga, TN; Chicago/Rockford, IL; Columbia, SC; Des Moines, IA; Elmira – Corning, NY; Fargo, ND; Fort Wayne, IN; Grand Rapids, MI; Greensboro, NC; Greenville-Spartanburg, SC; Hagerstown, MD; Huntington, WV; Knoxville, TN; Lexington, KY; McAllen, TX; Owensboro, KY; Plattsburgh, NY; Roanoke, VA; Shreveport, LA; Sioux Falls, SD; South Bend, IN; Springfield, MO; Toledo, OH; Tri-Cities, TN; Wilmington, NC; Youngstown-Warren, OH)
• Direct Air (flying to Kalamazoo, MI; Worcester, MA;)
• FlyGlobeSpan (flying to Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK; Glasgow, Scotland, UK;)
• Iceland Air (flying to Reykjavik, Iceland; Amsterdam via Reykjavik; Copenhagen via Reykjavik; Frankfurt via Reykjavik; Glasgow via Reykjavik; London-Heathrow via Reykjavik; Oslo via Reykjavik; Paris via Reykjavik; Stockholm via Reykjavik;)

International Charters

• Monarch (flying to Cardiff, Wales, UK; Dublin, Ireland; Glasgow, Scotland, UK; London-Gatwick, England, UK; Manchester, England, UK; Newcastle, England, UK; Shannon, Ireland;)
• Thomas Cook Airlines (flying to Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK; Cardiff, Wales, UK; Glasgow, Scotland, UK; London-Gatwick, England, UK; Manchester, England, UK; Newcastle, England, UK;)
• Thomson Airways (flying to Birmingham, England, UK; Bristol, England, UK; East Midlands, England, UK; Glasgow, Scotland, UK; London-Gatwick, England, UK; Manchester, England, UK; Newcastle, England, UK;)

Sanford International Airport Departure and Arrival

Here is the contact information:

Orlando Sanford International Airport
Sanford Airport Authority
1200 Red Cleveland Boulevard
Sanford, Florida 32773
Phone: 407-585-4000

BTW, the Sanford International Airpost is also home to the Delta Connections Academy that trains pilots from all over the world here in Sanford FL!

Parking at Sanford International

Day 305 – Flags by Lake Monroe

Flag by the Sanford Marina

Flag on Riverwalk Sanford FL

I always like passing the US flags when walking down the Riverwalk. Maybe it’s because there’s always at least a light breeze from Lake Monroe that makes them wave in the wind or just the scenery but I have been wanting to take a picture of these 2 flags for a while now. One is located right next to the Sanford Marina, the other at the rotunda where Park Avenue and Seminole Boulevard meet. Also very nice: you can see the waving flag from the Google Satellite map view (see image below).

Google Satellite Iage of Sanford Marina Flags