$434,455Average Value$226Average Price per Sq Ft49Homes For Sale
Rural country living in eastern Tallahassee
Tallahassee’s Buck Lake trades the city’s bustling downtown and lively football scene for quiet, rural country living. A community on the city’s eastern edge in Leon County, Buck Lake offers homes on spacious lots surrounded by lakes, pine forests and farmland. “If you’re looking for a pace of life that’s less demanding, if you’ve been living in a metro area and grown up in a large city and looking for a place to dial it back a notch or two or looking for an opportunity to go to work without fighting two hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic, then this is a great spot,” says Brien Sorne, who has lived in the community with his wife Annette since the 1980s. “You see people coming from other parts of the country either attending school or working for state governments, but they choose to stay here. Annette and I are among those, and we never regretted it.”
Sorne’s wife has been president of Buck Lake Woods Property Owners Association, a community subdivision, for nearly 18 years. Both Florida State University graduates, Sorne says they wanted a place to spread out as a young family. “We found ourselves as a young couple with one child and one on the way in an apartment complex, and when we were looking for a home, we loved the idea of having a bit of acreage,” he says. “We loved being in a less-developed part of the county.” He describes Buck Lake as something that started out simply and humbly. “The people who live here were looking for a departure from the more developed way of living. This is a neighborhood that is not a planned community, it’s the opposite,” he says. Buck Lake is 8 miles from downtown. Several major thoroughfares provide access to shopping and dining.
Acres of parkland, greenbelts and nature preserves
Buck Lake’s parkland is the biggest part of its appeal for homebuyers. “It’s the hallmark of Tallahassee,” Sorne says. “For those who are cyclists or hikers; if you’re into cross-country; if you’re into golf; if you have a kayak or canoe, this part of the world touts something for all of that and some of the most beautiful rivers.” The forested 800-acre J.R. Alfred Greenway is one of Tallahassee’s most popular parks. It’s filled with pastures, swampland and lakes and has 17 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. One of them is Lafayette Heritage Trail, an unpaved path leading to views of Piney Z Lake. The Lafayette Passage Paddling Trail is also here, where boaters can explore Piney Z and Lower Lafeyette Lakes. Lafayette Heritage Trail Park sits west of the greenway and offers fishing and boating in Piney Z Lake, a fishing pier, boat ramps and multiuse trails. Boaters can also access the 6-mile Lafayette Passage Paddling Trail from this park. The 225-acre Tom Brown Park is directly west and draws people from all over Tallahassee. The park provides a dog park, BMX track, a 24-hole disc golf course, two playgrounds, several ballfields, volleyball and tennis courts. “It’s very popular. There’s a lot of rolling hills, a small lake, and it’s played host to countless outdoor concerts,” Sorne says.
The pickle ball courts are usually full year round at Tom Brown Park near Buck Lake.
Junior League soccer games are an afternoon event at Tom Brown Park near Buck Lake.
The playground at Tom Brown Park provides fun for kids of all ages.
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Traditional homes and custom builds surrounded by horse farms and pine forests
The community is surrounded by a dense canopy of pines and oaks, along with lakes, pastures, farms and parkland. “This part of the county is given to horse farms and cattle ranches,” Sorne says. “A lot of agriculture still goes on at a personal level, and many homeowners still enjoy that lifestyle.” Buck Lake has ranch-style, traditional two-story brick, modern Craftsman-style homes and farmhouses. There are also custom builds. Most homes were constructed in the 1970s and '80s, but some are newer builds. Prices range from the low-$300,000s for a three-bedroom to the high-$800,000s for a five-bedroom. Most property sizes are between 1,300 square feet and 3,400 square feet. “Our neighborhood average prices come in around $350,000, and all are sitting on at least an acre,” he says. Older dwellings have rear garage parking and fenced-in backyards filled with peach, fig, orange and other fruit trees. Newer ones have multi-car garages and paved driveways. Many have wrap-around porches, screened-in side porches and yards backing up to the woods or farmland. Sorne says once people are here, they tend to plant roots, so homebuyers know their neighbors. “Most of us have been in the neighborhood for at least 25 to 30 years; it’s very stable,” he says. Buck Lake has a CAP Index Crime Score of 2 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
Modern brick ranch style homes are common with unique styles in Buck Lake neighborhoods.
Cookie-cutter neighborhoods provide excellent starter homes for young families to live.
New modern craftsman homes are going up just minutes from downtown in the Buck Lake area.
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Close to some Tallahassee's top dining spots
Most shopping and dining options are clustered around Buck Lake’s northern and western edges, along Capital Circle Northeast and Highway 90. “We have the corporate ones, like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, but you'll also find a lot of locally owned restaurants that have some of the best talent available,” Sorne says. “Tallahassee has a reputation of being one of the top cities for restaurants.” Local favorite Backwoods Crossing offers a New American/Southern menu with salads, seafood and sandwiches, using ingredients sourced from their on-site farm. A local chain, Hobbit American Grill – East, has been a staple for over 40 years, serving a menu of burgers and wings with their homemade, blue-cheese dressing. Sorne also recommends Table 23, a Midtown restaurant serving Southern-style fare. "It’s modestly priced and family friendly, but the cuisine is top drawer,” he says. Fallschase Village Center within the neighborhood has big-box stores such as Costco, Walmart and Bass Pro Shops, as well as a movie theater. Anchored by Publix, Manhan Village sits next door and offers UPS, Academy Sports & Outdoors store and a bank. Carriage Gate is 7 miles away for more shopping options.
Backwoods Crossings, located in Buck Lake, has unique farm to table dishes.
The CMX theaters run box office favorites with regular discount nights during the week.
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Buck Lake schools make the grade
Leon County Schools serves the area and is ranked the 11th-best district in Florida, according to Niche. Students can attend the A-rated Buck Lake Elementary, which offers an extended-day enrichment program, followed by Swift Creek Middle, which has an A-minus rating from Niche. Kids can finish their education at Lincoln High School, which earns an A and offers a culinary club and cross-country and football teams. College-bound students who want to stay close to home can attend Florida State University, ranked the 10th-best public university in America. The four-year institution is 8 miles away.
Buck Lake Elementary is the home of the Bobcats.
Swift Creek Middle School educates grades six through eight.
Lincoln High School, located on the east side of Tallahassee, is an A rated 9-12 school.
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A property association that cares for its community
Sorne says his wife Annette has fought for the neighborhood since they first moved in. Before becoming president of the property owners’ association, she brokered peace between newcomers, the original Buck Lake board and longtime homeowners over road issues. “People who bought homes wanted [the area] to remain as untouched as possible,” Sorne says. However, the roads could not keep up with development. After approaching the original sitting board several times for better roadways – to no avail – Annette got homeowners to sign a petition, had the current board resign and got approval for road upgrades without overdeveloping the area. Annette Sorne continues to strive for community improvement as president of the property owners’ association. “It’s a passion for her, and as a result, the neighborhood is immensely better off because of the hard fight she waged to bring better roads for landowners,” he says.
Residents cooperate on cleanup or neighborhood improvements, Sorne says. “A tree goes down in a yard, and two or three of us will go over and cut that thing up, and we’ll all stock our firewood.” At the entrance to Buck Lake sit two handmade Canada geese representing another part of the community’s character and charm that brings residents together. “The geese are a treasured item in our sweet little neighborhood,” Sorne says. “An adjacent wetland is south of us and is a nationally protected wildlife area. It’s been a winter habitat for Canada geese.” The pair, which sit in a case on Canadian Geese Trail, was created by a local resident and his wife, who have both since passed away. “When they passed, the neighborhood wanted it to have proper presentation, so we built a display case, it’s lit, and another neighbor makes sure the geese are dressed in the appropriate garb for the season and in jerseys for football season,” Sorne adds.
Fireworks over Buck Lake and downtown celebrations
Tom Brown Park hosts the city’s Fourth of July celebration each year. “It’s a big deal that started in the early ‘80s, and it always attracts people from around the region,” Sorne says. Cascades Park, 9 miles from Buck Lake, is a hub for live music. “It has a beautiful amphitheater, and it’s hosted big names over the years from Willie Nelson to ZZ Top.” Downtown Tallahassee also provides year-round events. Those include the annual Chain of Parks Arts Festival, a tradition held in April for over 25 years, its Winter Festival in December and the Tallahassee Beer Festival in August. There are several houses of worship within the community, including Shiloh Farm Church & Barn, the Hindu Temple of Tallahassee, Unity Eastside and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Eight miles outside Downtown Tallahassee
Highway 90 runs along Buck Lake’s northern edge, and Interstate 10 cuts through its northwestern section. These routes provide access to the rest of the area. Downtown Tallahassee is 8 miles away, and Tallahassee International Airport is a 17-mile drive. StarMetro provides public transportation. Bus stops are up and down Capital Circle Southeast, Apalachee Parkway and Conner Boulevard. HCA Florida Capital Hospital is 5 miles away.
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On average, homes in Buck Lake, Tallahassee sell after 69 days on the market compared to the national average of 52 days. The median sale price for homes in Buck Lake, Tallahassee over the last 12 months is $426,500, up 3% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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