Landscape architect Michael Gilkey has won the highest design award from the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for his “Urban Modern Retreat” project. Gilkey’s work was recognized both with an Award of Excellence and with the competition’s top Frederic B. Stresau Award for "absolute innovation and design excellence in the profession."  

Built in 2018, the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath residence on the corner Cherokee Drive and South Osprey Avenue designed by architect Guy Peterson has glass walls that admit views of Gilkey’s award-winning tropical landscaping. The house was designed around a massive old-growth banyan tree in the front yard, and also has an event lawn, a pollination garden, a bird garden with a preserved lychee tree and a bocce court. 

The project was one of four Great Gardens featured in the September-October 2020 issue of Sarasota Magazine.

Earlier this year, general contractor Murray Homes won Best in Show from the Southeast Builders Conference for its work on the residence. The home sold for $4.2 million in August, making it at that time the most expensive non-waterfront residential sale in Sarasota County.