Abogados de inmigración in North Port, FL

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On a nationally aggregated basis, U.S. single-family home prices, as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index, are up 2.8% year-over-year, while U.S. condo prices have risen 0.4% over the same period. In much of the Midwest, Northeast, and Southern California, regional home prices have seen even stronger gains.

However, some areas—particularly around the Gulf—are experiencing greater softness, with a few even undergoing home price corrections.

Look no further than Florida. Among the 26 major Florida condo markets that ResiClub tracks, condo prices are falling on a year-over-year basis in 24 metro area markets. In other words, condo prices are falling in 92% of Florida’s markets.

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The biggest year-over-year condo price declines are in these Florida markets:

Condo prices are also down in Florida’s three largest metros: Miami (-3.4%); Tampa (-7.9%), and Orlando (-4.7%).

When it comes to home prices, Florida single-family prices are holding up better than condo prices, however, there’s weakness there too.

Among the 29 major Florida single-family markets that ResiClub tracks, single-family home prices are falling on a year-over-year basis in 19 metro area markets. In other words, single-family prices are falling in 66% of Florida’s housing markets.

The biggest year-over-year single-family home price declines are in these Florida markets:

And here's how home prices have fared in Florida’s three largest metros: Miami (+3.2%); Tampa (-1.2%), and Orlando (+0.4%).

Florida's particularly intense overheating during the pandemic housing boom is the key reason for its pricing vulnerability. While U.S. home prices rose +41% between March 2020 and June 2022, Florida home prices surged +51% over the same period. It just takes a big enough shift in the supply-demand equilibrium for that vulnerability to manifest into falling prices.

Why has the supply-demand equilibrium shifted in Florida markets? It’s a combination of five factors, and some vary across Florida.

The early-rate deadline for Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards is Friday, March 21, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lance Lambert is the co-founder and editor of ResiClub, a media and research company dedicated to in-depth tracking, reporting, and analysis of regional housing markets. He has been publishing his reporting in Fast Company since 2023 More

The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board approved funding Tuesday for a $450 million, 100-bed acute care hospital on 32 acres it owns on Sumter Boulevard near Interstate 75, aiming to start construction later this year, as part of its centennial celebration.

While recognizing the attendance of North Port Development Services Director Alaina Ray at the meeting, Hospital Board Member Brad Baker quipped, “It’s not every day that somebody drops a check for $450 million in your office; I think it’s important that you came to receive it.”

The 8-0 vote of approval – with board member Bridgette Fiorucci absent because of scheduling conflict – followed a unanimous recommendation made earlier Tuesday by the hospital board’s Mission and Planning Committee.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System President & CEO David Verinder said, “Building a hospital in North Port has been part of our strategic plan and goals for many years, and I could not be more excited to break ground in 2025 during our centennial year,” in a prepared statement released shortly after the vote.

“It has taken time to build the medical infrastructure necessary to support the city’s first hospital, but we feel confident moving forward that we have the commitment and resources to ensure its success,” he added.

SMH has been working with city staff and other regulatory agencies on parallel tracks to obtain initial approvals for both this 32-acre campus and a 28-acre tract the hospital owns at the intersection of West Villages Parkway and Tamiami Trail in Wellen Park.

SMH has long targeted a free-standing emergency room at the Wellen Park site, with an eye toward developing a second hospital there, too.

This summer at its strategic planning session, the hospital board will look at its plan for the Wellen Park expansion, as well as the facility it opened in 2009 that houses both physicians offices and a free-standing emergency room.

Meanwhile, Hospital Corporation of America Florida Englewood Hospital is anticipating opening an 11,300-square-foot freestanding emergency department on a 30-acre campus in Wellen Park as soon as March.

That HCA campus may someday expand into an acute care hospital as well.

What will the new SMH hospital look like?

Renderings are not yet available but the initial structures will be a hurricane-hardened, 305,000-square-foot hospital, 60,000-square-foot medical office building and back-up energy center.

The first floor of the hospital will include emergency, diagnostic, administrative and support services; with surgical and procedure areas on the second floor.

The 100 private patient rooms will be on the third through fifth floors, while the sixth floor will house the hospital’s mechanical infrastructure.

That 100-bed hospital could eventually be expanded to 208 beds. SMH has already received approval from the city to build a 150-foot-tall facility at both the Sumter and Wellen Park campuses, since the current plan is for the designs to be identical.

To staff the hospital, SMH would have to hire an additional 74 physicians.

How is North Port’s medical landscape changing?

When the new SMH-North Port opens in the fall of 2028, it will not be the first hospital in North Port.

That distinction goes to the 144-bed Acadia Healthcare North Port Behavioral Health. City officials helped cut the ribbon on that private behavioral health hospital on Jan. 23.

The facility is estimated to employ 92 people with an average salary of approximately $67,000.

North Port Behavioral Health will treat patients with depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.

The hospital is also collaborating with the city of North Port to provide 24/7 crisis counseling, PTSD training and resources for first responders.

Exalt Health, a Garland, Texas-based healthcare provider, plans to build a 40-bed rehabilitation hospital in Wellen Park and Bay Pine VA Healthcare System plans to replace its current VA Clinic in Port Charlotte with a new one in North Port.

Still, as North Port City Manager Jerome Fletcher noted in a prepared statement, the decision to build its first hospital in the city at Sumter Boulevard is “a landmark step for North Port.”

“With today’s decision, the quality health care so many North Port residents have desired for years is finally on its way to our community, along with new career opportunities for our workforce,” he added. “The city is committed to working with SMH through the development process to bring this project to life.”

For future updates on the new hospital and health care facilities in North Port, visit: smh.com/NorthPortUpdates.

The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board has approved a $450 million plan to build North Port’s first hospital.

The six-story, 100-bed hospital on North Sumter Boulevard will be built on an undeveloped, 32-acre parcel that Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (SMH) owns. The North Port campus will be the health system’s third acute-care hospital, fulfilling a long-standing request from the City of North Port for a hospital of its own. With more than 95,000 residents, North Port is the largest city in Sarasota County, both in land mass and population, and one of the fastest growing in the nation.

“Building a hospital in North Port has been part of our strategic plan and goals for many years,” SMH president and CEO David Verinder said after Tuesday’s hospital board vote. “It has taken time to build the medical infrastructure necessary to support the city’s first hospital, but we feel confident moving forward that we have the commitment and resources to ensure its success.”

Hospital staff worked with North Port and other regulatory officials throughout 2024 to obtain the initial approvals needed to begin developing a medical campus on the Sumter Boulevard site. The plan approved this week reflects the first phase of development, which includes a hurricane-hardened, 305,000-square-foot hospital; 60,000-square-foot medical office building; and back-up energy center. The hospital will offer comprehensive emergency, medical, surgical and specialty care, a full complement of diagnostic and outpatient services, and primary and specialty physician practices in the adjacent medical office building.

The first floor of the hospital will include emergency, diagnostic, administrative and support services. The second floor will house surgical and procedural areas, and floors three to five will be dedicated to the 100 private patient care units. The sixth will be used for mechanical space and to provide infrastructure that will ultimately allow SMH to add three more patient care floors and expand the hospital capacity to 208 beds.

Site preparation will start immediately, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony later this year. SMH leaders expect it will take approximately 30 months to complete construction; the hospital is currently slated to open in the fall of 2028.

“This is a landmark step for North Port,” North Port city manager Jerome Fletcher said after the hospital board vote. “The quality health care so many North Port residents have desired for years is finally on its way to our community, along with new career opportunities for our workforce. The city is committed to working with SMH through the development process to bring this project to life.”

This summer, the hospital board will also review and update plans for its Wellen Park campus and its existing freestanding emergency room and healthcare center on Toledo Blade Boulevard.

For future updates on the new hospital and health care facilities in North Port, click here.

Residents have mixed feeling about the city's exponential growth.

NORTH PORT – Just 65 years ago, North Port was called home by 21 individuals. Today, it is the second fastest-growing city in the United States.

North Port is one of the largest cities in Florida with a land area of 104.1 square miles. This has facilitated its speedy growth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, North Port’s population in July 2023 was 88,934. That is an 18.9% increase from April 2020 and a 55% increase from 2010.

But many have developed strong opinions regarding this exponential growth.

“I just hope that we get a handle on the growth and find a balance,” former City Commissioner Debbie McDowell said.

McDowell has been a North Port resident for 36 years. She said she saw North Port go from cow pastures and one lane roads to a booming city.

“There was nothing here when I got to the area in 1989. I think there were only two or three stoplights in town,” McDowell said. “Then when big corporations decided to call North Port home is when I kind of went, wow, we’re on the map now and they see us.”

Centrally located between Tampa and Fort Myers, for years North Port has boasted affordability, a strong sense of community and a great quality of life for all ages.

“When we moved there was one elementary school, so we knew that the city was going to grow,” McDowell said. “I liked that it was quiet, and I knew that it was going to be safe for raising a family.”

For longtime residents, it seemed like their city grew overnight. The same is the case for newer residents.

“When I first purchased my house in 2023, almost every house in the neighborhood had an empty lot on at least one side. Two years later, nearly every one of those lots has been purchased and had a house rapidly built and sold,” North Port resident Michael Brown said.

Brown was set to buy a home in either Sarasota or North Port. He ultimately chose North Port due to its affordability.

The average home value in Sarasota is approximately $437,000, while North Port’s is $328,353, according to Zillow.com. Even with a growing demand, North Port’s average home value is still cheaper than the average home in Florida by more than $50,000.

Growth is at the forefront of city leadership. One of the seven pillars of their 2022-2025 Strategic Vision Plan is “Economic Development & Growth Management.”

“We can’t stop the growth. The population keeps coming,” Mayor Phil Stokes said. “There has to be a balancing act, and that’s how you can create this kind of sustained growth. You can’t compromise public safety for infrastructure. You can’t promote quality of life and wreck areas at the expense of infrastructure or public safety.”

North Port is home to several parks, reserves and recreation areas that are loved by its residents.

“To have to experience this kind of growth is not an easy thing for existing citizens. The challenge is to do it in a way that retains the character of the city,” Stokes said.

Stokes said that 30% of North Port’s land area in the city is still either open space or conservational land, making it a place with a wonderful suburban feel.

But growth is far from easy and possesses many challenges. One of the biggest complaints among residents: traffic. More people equal more vehicles on the road.

“Most of the roads around the city are small two-lane roads, which contribute to a massive amount of backed up traffic along a lot of major roadways,” Brown said.

“Traffic is horrendous. When I-75 shuts down, then U.S. 41 backs up and then Price Boulevard backs up,” McDowell said. “It’s just a hot mess.”

The city has plans to widen the roads, but that doesn’t come so easily in North Port.

North Port is the only city in Florida that does not have the ability to borrow any money without voter approval. That is the way it has operated since North Port was incorporated in 1959. In order to go through with projects such as widening the roads, the city must save up all of the money needed to fully fund a project if they are not granted the approval to borrow.

The widening of Price Boulevard, for example, one of the thoroughfare roads in North Port, was originally proposed more than a decade ago and would have cost less than $3 million. But because the city did not have the money saved, nor the approval to borrow the money, they were not able to go through with the project. It wasn’t until November 2022 that voters approved up to

$80 million in bonds.

Price Boulevard will widen from two lanes to four lanes between Toledo Blade and Sumter boulevards. However, major roadwork is set to start early this year and is not estimated to be completed until fall 2027.

“It really is a macro approach that involves addressing all the different needs and priorities, and marshaling your dollars efficiently all the time,” Stokes said. “It’s not a controlled growth; it’s a managed growth, and it’s not always so easy.”

An important consideration, though, is that the growth of a city may increase the risk of flooding. According to FloodSmart.gov, new developments, more concrete and limited or outdated

drainage systems are flood risks within cities. North Port is also already highly susceptible to flooding because it is situated within a watershed that receives water from the north/northeast.

“Most of the roads around my home struggle to handle even small amounts of rainfall. I have days in the summer and fall where I literally cannot leave my neighborhood because there is a small lake at the entrance and the drainage system is not up to par,” Brown said. “Even my wife had her car totaled last summer because she was caught in deep standing water on a roadway.”

The Department of Public Works has implemented a 10-Year Stormwater Management Plan for the fiscal years 2020-2030. Because the original infrastructure components were constructed in the late 1960s, the Water Control Structures (WCS) need to be maintained. The most recent WCS replacement took place last month. It was the 13th structure replaced out of 64.

“I believe North Port will one day rival the likes of Sarasota. [North Port] is taking the right steps, but I just believe it will take time before those benefits catch up with the growth of the community,” Brown said.

Copyright 2025 WGCU

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Highest-rated Mexican restaurants in the North Port area by diners

Just like cuisine from any country, Mexican food is not monolithic. It isn't just combo plates and tacos. (Not that there's anything wrong with that style of food; it's delicious and is responsible for popularizing Mexican food in the United States.) But Mexican food means more than that.

It reflects Mexico's diverse population—shaped by waves of immigration—and has proliferated throughout the U.S., showcasing the cuisine in all its complexity and regionality. Mexico has 32 distinct regional styles of cooking, and thanks to immigrant chefs and the rise of promising culinarians of Mexican descent looking to share their signature dishes, Indigenous foodways, and ingredients from various regions, diners are reframing their idea of "Mexican food."

According to a 2024 Pew Research Center analysis of SafeGraph data, 1 in 10 restaurants in the U.S. serve Mexican food, and nearly 9 out of 10 U.S. counties have at least one Mexican restaurant. The analysis also reveals that California and Texas are home to a majority of the Mexican American population and together host 2 out of 5 Mexican restaurants in the country.

These findings serve as a testament to the influence Mexican cuisine has had and continues to have in America. Which begs the question: Where does one go for the best old-school Mexican restaurants, loncheras slinging tacos out of a half-window, and innovative modern Mexican food pushing culinary boundaries?

To help you out, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated Mexican restaurants in the North Port area based on diners' reviews on Yelp as of February 2025. Restaurants with at least 20 reviews tagged as "Mexican" on Yelp within a 10-kilometer radius of North Port were included. As a result, some restaurants featured may serve other food items besides Mexican food. Also, in an effort to highlight independent businesses and local chains, those with more than 50 locations nationally, based on the Yelp data, were not included.

Keep reading to see if your favorite Mexican spot made the list or to discover a new restaurant to try!

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