First built and owned by Tampa Bay’s iconic cattle-ranching Starkey family, this waterfront Odessa home combines old Florida surroundings with modern artistic design elements. A private dock leads straight out into the 97-acre Lake Anne, with an outdoor kitchen and seating area providing beautiful water views.
The five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom home, currently listed for $1.8 million through Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, was built in 1989 by Tampa architect Tom Szumlic. He took inspiration from the prairie-style homes developed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Midwest in the early 1900s. The style focuses on bringing the outdoors in, from natural light to natural materials. Szumlic incorporated the corner glass windows, open floor plan, central chimney, strong horizontal lines and brick and wood interiors typically found in prairie homes. A 2015 full kitchen renovation brought in red fusion granite countertops, leaded glass passthrough doors and a distinctive copper range vent.
“This is not just a home but an experience, perfect for the luxury buyer who fancies themselves a piece of Americana,” says Jeramiah Bustin, one of the property’s listing agents.
The home is not far from what used to be C-S Ranch, a 16,000-acre property owned by the Starkeys where cattle roamed the open fields. J.B. Starkey Sr. first found success with Ulmerton Ranch southeast of Largo, collecting property throughout the 1920s and moving his 300-head operation to Odessa in 1937. While the slow death of Florida’s cattle industry throughout the 20th century led Starkey to give up pieces of the land, he purposely sold a tract to the Southwest Florida Water Management District to ensure it would never be developed.
Starkey’s family preserved his memory and passion for conservation after his death in 1989 through the creation of Pasco County’s Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park. In 2016, the Starkey Ranch master-planned community opened adjacent to the park, turning the remaining ranch land into home lots, the centerpiece District Park, and 20 miles of trails that connect with Wilderness Park.
