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About Walt Bethel:

Walt Bethel is a fourth generation Floridian, born and raised in Arcadia, with a vast knowledge of all areas of Florida Real Estate and an ardent appreciation for Florida history.

  

The purchase and development of his first orange grove when he was just sixteen years old fueled Walt's passion for real estate.

  

Since then, he has bought, owned, and sold a wide variety of properties throughout a successful business career. 

 

His investments have included acreage, agricultural properties, residential homes, condos, and commercial properties.

 

Walt's marketing and sales experience was cultivated over time at his family's business, Bethel Farms, where he marketed, managed, and sold products to "Big Box" retailers across the Southeastern and Midwestern United States.

 

From an early age, Walt's dad instilled in him the values to work hard and always have a goal, to look for a better way of doing things, and to constantly improve on them.

  

The daily implementation of these principles, coupled with his enjoyment of networking with new people and his experience in business, sales, and marketing, have contributed to Walt's success as a Realtor.

 

Walt has served on various boards and committees throughout the years. He has coached and actively supports local youth athletic programs and leagues. 

He and his wife Jill, also a fourth generation Floridian, reside in Punta Gorda. They have two teenage children, a daughter Peyton and a son Truman.
Note From
Our Neighbors
Better Grow
Presents the
The Orchid Show 
Celebrating 40 Years at Selby Gardens

February 14th to March 27th 
10am-5pm
 
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
811 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236

941.366.5731
 
More Info:
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Did you 
know
?

Inventors Thomas Edison and Henry Ford
The inventor of the light bulb (and alkaline batteries and the talking doll and more than 1,000 other patents) put down roots in Fort Myers in 1885 and was joined 30 years later by his protege Henry Ford. Their homes comprise a must-see museum.
What first strikes a visitor to their estate is the banyan tree. It is as sprawling and mighty as the story of Thomas Alva Edison, whose estate it decorates.
The tree came to the inventor's winter home in 1925, a four-foot Ficus benghalenis producing white sap that Edison and his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone hoped to use in making natural rubber.
The banyan was not the answer. But it remained, growing to an acre in diameter, and becoming one of more than 1,000 plants from around the world ornamenting 25 acres dedicated mostly to the man who invented the electric light bulb, the phonograph and the motion picture.
Ford bought property next door to his mentor in 1916. As a youth, the motor company founder worked at an Edison company in Detroit. The budding auto magnate used his spare time tinkering with gas-powered engines. The two entrepreneurs met at a convention in 1896, and Edison encouraged the younger man. The two proved to be kindred spirits. The automaker purchased property next to Edison in 1916, naming it "The Mangoes."
The entrepreneurs spent hours sitting on their porches, discussing projects, planning trips to the
Everglades, listening to Mina play the piano and perhaps playing Parcheesi, Edison's favorite game.
Source: Visit Florida
 
FEBRUARY 2016
NEWSLETTER 



Welcome to the 2016 New Year Edition of my "Real Estate Resource" Newsletter

Please check out my website waltbethel.com
to view my listings, search for property, or to enjoy one of my archived newsletters.

As always, I welcome your feedback and suggestions. 
  
Walt
Inventors from Arcadia
Past and Present 
  • After the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), Peace River was the northern boundary for the "Seminole Reservation"; the first survey of the Arcadia area, inside the Reservation, was completed the following year.
  • In 1881, Captain Francis LeBaron of U. S. Army Corps of Engineers makes a survey of Peace River to explore the feasibility of connecting it to the St. Johns River: his two discoveries: impracticality of waterway and pebble phosphate in the riverbed. 
  • In 1931, George End opens the first Rattlesnake Meat Cannery just outside of Arcadia, and the Floridian Products Corporation uses every available part of the snake; in 1937 he moved his operations near Tampa, establishing Rattlesnake, Florida, for his cannery and reptilorium, with a post office.
  • Thomas Gaskins invented the "Gaskins' Car Coupler" for railroad cars in 1895; he built one of the first stores and residences in Arcadia.
  • Frank Cline invented the Cline Rolling Straight Edge to help in building roads; his Hydraulic Track Adjustors invention was used by construction-equipment companies and the U.S. Army for tanks.
  • Ed Scott served as the first chairman, a volunteer, of the department of roads, now the Florida Department of Transportation. He arranged for two major highways, U.S. Highway 17, also known as the Dixie Highway (established in 1915), and State Road 70 to intersect at the center of Arcadia.
  • Nicknamed the Kettring Bug, Charles Kettring's "aerial torpedo," a forerunner of today's "smart bombs," was tested at Carlstrom Field southeast of Arcadia in 1918.
  • Until his death in 1916, T. A. Cassels produced an "Indian-Remedy for Indigestion and Dyspesia," a popular patent medicine, in Arcadia; supposedly, a Seminole had given him the recipe.
  • Lewis Bishop, who served on Arcadia's City Council, invented the rotary mower in Arcadia; the State Road Department was his biggest customer.
  • Gator Roach Hives, a prototype of the modern "Roach Motel" was invented and manufactured for more than 50 years in Arcadia.  
  • Johnny George's invention, a cone of flexible plastic that fits around the trunk of a citrus tree, "Tree-T-Pee" a water conservation tool.     Source: VivaFL 
Featured Listing
1.9 Commercial Acres-Kings Hwy Frontage
12641 SW County Rd 769 Lake Suzy, FL 34269


DESOTO COUNTY

1.9 Acres Commercial land. This parcel fronts Kings Highway in beautiful Lake Suzy Florida. 

A very unique parcel that also has approximately 200 feet of golf course frontage!! Located just a minute or two from I 75. 

Just 35 minutes away from Sarasota and Fort Myers. 

Opportunities abound here!!

MLS #: C7220586
List Price: $250,000
Total Acres: 1.9
See My Listings for more information.
Featured Listing
REDUCED AGAIN!
Prime Highway Frontage Real Estate with Warehouse, Offices, and Retail Floor
121 S DeSoto Ave. Arcadia, FL 34266 

DESOTO COUNTY

A multitude of options for this listing! Located in the heart of downtown Arcadia. Situated on US Hwy 17 South just one block from Hwy 70.

With over 26,000 sq ft this building has it all. Warehouse, shop, retail show floor, numerous offices, mezzanine, apartment, employee break room and much more. Three separate entrances give you endless possibilities of dividing and renting out space. 

The zoning for this property allows almost limitless options.

Includes parcels 25-37-24-0012-0470-0180, 25-37-24-0012-0470-0190, AND 25-37-24-0012-0470-0200. 
CALL TODAY FOR AN APPOINTMENT! 

MLS #: C7213840
List Price: $795,000
Heated Sq. Ft: 26,610
See My Listings for more information.
Featured Listing
3+ Acres Industrial Light Property on Kings Hwy
11480 County Rd 769 Arcadia, FL 34269

DESOTO COUNTY

3.65 Acres zoned Industrial Light. An ideal location to start your light manufacturing or processing business. The IL zoning offers MANY other options as well. 

This property is located in business friendly Desoto County and has approx. 269 feet of Kings Highway frontage. 

Only 35 minutes to Sarasota or Fort Myers. Two residential developments are planned nearby. 

A rare opportunity to purchase an Industrial Light zoned vacant lot along this corridor! 

MLS #: C7202830
List Price: $299,000
Total Acres: 3.65
See My Listings for more information.
Featured Listing
REDUCED
Warehouse with Office/Storage on 8+ Acres
2692 Nat Ave. Arcadia, FL 34266

 DESOTO COUNTY

8.5 Acres Zoned Industrial Light right off of Hwy 17 in Arcadia, FL. Gated property offers two buildings, office and parking. 

Manufacturing building encompassing over 39,000 total square feet and boasts up to 26' high ceilings. Ideal for light manufacturing and assembly line operations or distribution. 

Previously used as Machine Shop but zoning allows for many options. Adjacent 4.69 acres of commercial real estate may be purchased separately. Call today for an appointment!

MLS #: C7205536
List Price: $1,295,000
Total Acres: 8.51
See My Listings for more information.
Previous Featured Listing
Golf Course Custom Home
8543 Aviary Rd., Arcadia, FL 34269

DESOTO COUNTY