A couple of years ago, two national home builders took a chance on the Southwest Florida housing market by acquiring 40 acres of land between Lockwood Ridge Road and I-75 in Bradenton. Although this is a prime residential area in Manatee County, Ryland Homes and Taylor Morrison took a chance with Arbor Reserve in 2012, a time when the real estate market had barely started to recover.

These days, Arbor Reserve is a very desirable neighborhood. The developers have taken advantage of the abundant natural beauty of the land they acquired, and a good portion will be preserved so that homeowners can enjoy three lakes as well as various green areas of lush vegetation native to Florida.

Arbor Reserve is a gated community where families can live and proper in a safe and tranquil setting. Taylor Morrison and Ryland Homes have chosen their latest and most popular Florida home plans for this neighborhood. Each home at Arbor Reserve is packed with upscale features such as stainless-steel GE appliances, oak or maple cabinetry, colonial casing and base boards, walk-closet with vinyl-coated wire shelves, energy-efficient windows and insulation, and many others.

Floor plans such as the Kentwood III are the reason many families have been interested in Arbor Reserve since the neighborhood opened its gates to the public. This is a two-story, four-bedroom and three-bathroom home built on 3,695 square feet of air-conditioned space. The Kentwood III is typically listed under $450K, but this may soon change as neighborhood home values continue to appreciate. More affordable listings were priced around $315K in the summer of 2015.

Arbor Reserve is located near the shopping districts that line State Road 70 as it heads west towards South Bradenton. The beaches of Manatee and Sarasota counties are about the same distance from Arbor Reserve, which means that residents can drive less than 30 minutes to dip their toes in the Gulf of Mexico.