One of the wonderful things about Manatee County is its diversity of communities. Northwest Bradenton is home to subdivisions, many of them high end. The eastern part of the county has exploded with the creation of Lakewood Ranch and other planned communities. Central Manatee has a plethora of condos and single family homes, and of course, the western edge of Manatee is focused on Anna Maria Island with its own unique diversity. But there is one area of Manatee County that is sometimes overlooked when it comes to housing.

Cortez is best known as the iconic fishing village on the south side of Cortez Road, but while not as colorful as the old fishing village, the north side is also one of a kind, especially if you’re a boater and want to keep your boat near your home.

If you take the turn off of Cortez Road at 119th Street you will weave your way through the Harbour Landings Community. Harbour Landings has both single-family homes behind secured gates and town homes. The town homes have access to a clubhouse, pool and tennis courts. Many of the homes in Harbour Landings have boat slips and water views from a circular boat basin or the main canal leading to the bay.

Also on the main canal there are two condominium communities, both with boat slips for all residents. Mariner's Cove is at the end of 129th Street behind gates with boat slips situated on three canals, all with direct access to the bay. Every unit has a water view, and most of them have spectacular views of the bay over to Anna Maria Island. Smugglers Landing is the other condo community that shares the main canal, again with assigned boat slips for all units and canal views.

Off of 129th Street is the community of The Pointe, with boat slips assigned to each unit. The Pointe also has great views, both over the bay and the boat basin. The boat basin where residents of The Pointe have slips also is home to the Cove Sound Moorings Marina, which is a commercial marina strictly for slip rentals. The Cove Sound Yacht Club shares this boat basin for its community’s boat slips. Cove Sound Yacht Club is a community of Key West-style, single-family hopes behind gates near the end of 129th Street.

The remaining gated community is called Sunset Harbor. Sunset Harbour is single family homes with boat slips on the bay side of the community. There are also a collection of single-family homes along the other streets in the area, some of which back up to canals.

Prices for properties in this unique area range from well over a million to the mid-$400,000s and there are several lots available to build on. As of this writing there were 37 properties for sale and nine of them were marked pending about 27 percent. In addition, there were five properties ranging from $1,249,500 to $1,690,000 and three properties in the high $900,000s.

The north side of Cortez is a very special area offering properties with fabulous water views, beautifully designed homes and condos in addition to being boat friendly. It is not only a wonderful destination, but it is also a perfect alternative to Anna Maria’s overheated prices and traffic.

Frequently overlooked by buyers, Cortez could be just what you’re looking for, and you don’t need to wait in traffic to go over the bridge. Cortez is another one of Manatee County’s distinctive communities – not The Island and not really an island, but an island unto itself.