Ellenton.

Ellenton sits where the interstate crosses the top of the county, and it is two housing markets in one place. There is the older Ellenton, quiet streets of block homes and a good deal of manufactured and park housing that has been here for decades, and there is the newer Ellenton of subdivisions that filled in the land around the outlets and the highway corridor through the 1990s and 2000s.

The work splits along the same line. In the older housing it is a rescue: original kitchens and bathrooms, flooring at the end of its life, exterior wood and siding that has taken thirty summers of sun, and decks and carport structures that need rebuilding rather than patching. In the newer subdivisions the houses are structurally sound and it is builder grade finishes coming out, kitchens being opened and updated, and the covered outdoor space going on the back that the original builder left off. Being at the top of the county puts us equally close to Palmetto, Parrish and the bridge south, so this is easy ground for us to cover.