Forget the winery fantasy for a moment, let's return to the bed and breakfast fantasy. Imagine owning this piece of real estate and being the owner of a small inn in Key West, Florida. The Southernmost Point Guest House is located on Duval Street in the heart of Key West's tourist area near the official southernmost point of the Continental United States. The historic mansion is on a corner lot with gardens leading to the pool, parking, trellised patio and a wide porch that wraps around the building. There are 10 bedrooms and eight bathrooms and seven spacious apartment units in two buildings. According to the Southernmost Point Guest House website, some of the apartment condos are for sale for $650.000. This beautiful spot is listed at $4.25 million.
The name Ft. Lauderdale may be inexorably linked with the phrase "Spring Break," but that could be about to change now that the dingy Marina Marriot is getting a $60 million glamour injection. Full renovations on the newly-christened Ft. Lauderdale Grande Hotel & Yacht Club will be completed next month. The interiors are refreshing, stylish and modern, not to mention well-insulated from the frat boy set.
Meanwhile, a branch of Manhattan restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's chic China Grill has already started serving guests lucky enough to snag one of the soft-opening suites. This is Chodorow's first outdoor waterside space; he'll also run the hotel's in-room dining operation. The restaurant overlooks the 33-slip inlet marina for yachting and diving enthusiasts, and a beautifully-redesigned pool area with cabanas and an outdoor fire pit. Check out the Photo Gallery for a preview.
I've mentioned before that the real estate auction market in Florida is heating up as more and more people need to get rid of houses in a hurry. Now some of the biggest newest mansions are hitting the black at reduced prices. Case in point, this 12,000-square-foot home in Jupiter, Florida. This five-bedroom overlooks the Loxahatchee river and has a 125-foot dock with 160 feet of water frontage. The property also includes a three two-car garages, a two-bedroom guesthouse and there is a large pool overlooking the river and a gazebo with an outdoor kitchen and barbecue. Inside it's classic Florida gigantic with a double-height foyer with a massive chandelier and marble staircase with wrought-iron railings. The home has a large gourmet kitchen, octagonal breakfast room, master suite with a private balcony. The home was listed at $6,995,000 but a court order has forced an auction at $4.5 million or lower on April 19.
For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most expensive zip codes in the United States, up today, 33924. This zip code brings us to Captiva Island, Florida a spit of land stretching into the Gulf of Mexico. This tranquil and warm area has a median price of $2,060,000 with an appreciation rate of 382% since 1990.
Captiva island is reached by car via the Sanibel Causeway and Sanibel-Captiva Road. Its location makes it a bit of a hurricane magnet and the island was damaged in 2004 when Hurricane Charley rolled through. That doesn't stop people from building some huge houses though. Case in point, today's estate, a large three-story home with six bedrooms. The overall decor relies far too much on the beige but the home does have a salt water aquarium, gourmet kitchen, elevator, arched gallery, marble floors and big mahogany double doors. The swimming pool includes a spa and an area for in-water dining and most importantly a short walk brings you directly to the Captiva Isand's famously beautiful white sand beaches. This property is listed at $10,900,000.
Gallery: Most Expensive Zip Codes, 33924, Captiva Island, FL
For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most expensive zip codes in the United States, up today, 33037. This zip code lands us in Key Largo, Florida, an island paradise in the upper Florida Keys archipelago . This getaway famous for tourism diving and sport-fishing has been celebrated both in a Humphrey Bogart movie and a 1980s pop song by Bertie Higgins. This tropical vacation spot has a median price of $2,740,000 with an appreciation rate of 385% since 1990.
Today's estate isn't the most expensive one for sale in the area but it exemplifies the more luxurious side of Key Largo real estate. The property has both a five-bedroom main house and a guest house. The two-acre retreat on the water has tropical landscaping, a dock and a pool and spa. There is a large gourmet kitchen a double-height great room and plenty of windows and veranda space. One particularly nice detail is the loft which has a spiral staircase leading to a roof sun deck. This home is listed at $5,395,000.
Gallery: Most Expensive Zip Codes, 33037, Key Largo, FL
Need more proof that Florida's real estate market is in deep trouble? Here it is, both Sotheby's Realty and Coldwell Banker are making moves on the real estate auction front. Sol Sotheby's International Realty and Nestler Poletto Sotheby's International Realty have announced they will hold their first luxury property auction for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties on March 28 in Fort Lauderdale, putting more than $200 million in high-end properties on the block. Most of the properties will be sold to the highest qualified bidder with no limiting conditions or amounts.
The same company that is working with Sotheby's, Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions, is also helping Coldwell Banker Real Estate Florida with auctions. They now offer clients the option of auctioning off their homes in Central Florida rather than selling in the traditional manner.
My mother, who moved to Florida last year from Massachusetts, says that in Florida everyone's home looks like a furniture store. That's definitely true of today's estate, an extravagant 12,000 square-foot home located on 7.8 acres in Ocala, Florida. The home has six bedrooms total including a large master suite. The home includes a chef's kitchen that leads to a family room with a beverage center, wine cellar, computer station and walk-in pantry. Outdoor areas include a pool, a lanai with a double-sided fireplace, tennis court and an outdoor kitchen. The upstairs left wing is an entire floor dedicated to entertaining with a game room, card room, billiards/family room, media room, exercise room, 1.5 baths and beverage center built from an air balloon basket. The upstairs right wing has three bedrooms and can serve as guest quarters or the children's wing. The manor office has 30 foot ceilings, double-sided fireplace, a built-in library with special ceiling treatment and opens to covered lanai. The main guest suite is secluded and private on the first floor. No pictures of the bedrooms or baths on this one but I suspect they are just more of the beige same. This home is listed at $5 million.
One man making the most of his post football career is the Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka. Ditka, who launched a wine brand in 2006 and has Mike Ditka restaurants, is now opening two Mike Ditka Resorts in Orlando, Lighthouse Key Resort and Spa and Runaway Beach Club Resort.
Lighthouse Key Resort & Spa is a gated resort community with two-, three- and four-bedroom lakefront villas. The villas have stainless steel gourmet kitchens, private lanais, large master suites, separate dining and living rooms, in-home washers and dryers, and the latest in high definition, flat screen entertainment as well as a 42 inch television in each villa's great room. There is also a 4,600-square-foot European-style spa, a heated zero-depth entry freeform swimming pool, resort-style pool and hot tub, health and fitness center, 50-seat movie theater, billiards room, game room, meeting facilities, a grand clubhouse, deli and gift shop, business center, meeting space, poolside bar and high speed wireless Internet service throughout the resort.
Runaway Beach Club Resort will have one-, two- and three-bedroom villas and loft villas each with a gourmet kitchen and dining room, flat screen TVs and DVD players. The grounds include a heated "Key West" zero-entry family pool with water features for kids, a heated "South Beach" adult pool and tanning deck, a 24-hour professional fitness center, indoor basketball court, whirlpool spa, clubhouse/reception center, and complimentary shuttle service to the Walt Disney World theme parks.
Ditka will be in Orlando Feb. 27 to unveil the new resorts to the media.
Some homes in Sarasota, Florida strive for spare and modern design. This is not one of those houses. This is the other kind of Sarasota house, a lavish new construction designed to catch the eye of the high-end shopper. Records show that the property on Sarasota Bay was buy for under $1.5 million back in 2003. The home was developed by Laughlin's Luxury Lifestyles and built by Triangle Construction and is a lavish 14,243 square foot residence. Believe it or not, the listing says this one is a certified green home. There are five bedrooms and the finishes include lots of marble and travertine as well as exotic woods including Brazilian cherry, teak and bamboo.The grounds include a large pool and spa and a dock and boat lift. It's been on the market for a while, check out this press release from August 2006 that says that Sky Sotheby's Realtors Laura Brady and Stuart Mattison "personally commit to spending upwards of $50,000 over the course of the first year, of which 5 percent goes to photography and copywriting, 20 percent goes for the launch event, 15 percent goes for Internet ads, 30 percent goes for direct mail and brochures, 25 percent goes for print advertising, and the balance goes for odd and ends." It looks like the home was previously priced at $10,850,000 but it is currently at $9.950,000. Although it was built in 2006, the extreme extravagance already makes it seem like a relic of an earlier, more optimistic time.
This year's Naples Wine Festival didn't top last year's record of $15.6 million but $14 million isn't too shabby in this economy. The Florida festival always brings the big spenders. Tickets to the festival cost $7,500 per couple but the real money, which is all donated to less fortunate families and children, comes the extravagant auction items. Some of the high-end wine lots included $190,000 for a three-liter bottle of 1990 Vega Sicilia, plus a visit to the winery, $220,000 for a case of 1961 Bordeaux and $240,000 for six magnums of Screaming Eagle cabernet and two commemorative Harley Davidson motorcycles and gear. The festival also always features high-end cars. This year Mr and Mrs Monte Ahuja bid $450,000 for the rights to own the first U.S.-delivered Bentley Brooklands coupe. The auction also features walk-on parts in television shows, front-row seats at fashion shows and trip to the Oscars. Perhaps what's most amazing about this event is that all that money comes from just 500 guests bidding on over 70 lots. Over eight years the auction has raised nearly $70-million for children and families.
A couple of years ago, I reported on a story about a man who bought a purple pearl brooch at a sale thinking it was costume jewelry and found himself with a piece worth around $250,000. A Florida man recently found another rare purple pearl this week and all he had to do was order a steamed clams. George Brock and his wife, Leslie found the pearl while eating at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar. Their pearl isn't quite as big the one in the brooch but it could be worth thousands. The couple will have it appraised and then decide if they will sell it.
Luxury and Fort Lauderdale are not exactly synonymous but the new 105-suite il Lugano resort hopes to change that. The hotel, which opens on January 2, offers oversized one-bedroom suites and the two-bedroom suites with large balconies. There are also entertainment suites with terraces that are capable of handling up to 50 guests. Amenities include full-sized refrigerators, microwaves and cook-tops and washers and dryers.
The top four floors are given over to 23 residences. The units range in size from 1,600 to 7,000 square feet with 10- to 11-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass windows. European kitchens and large balconies. Unit owners are entitled to use all hotel amenities. A three-bedroom condo is currently listed at $1.95 million.
The hotel has a swimming pool, fitness center, lobby bar and 10 boat slips on the Intracoastal Waterway. A signature restaurant fronting the Intracoastal will be announced next spring. Introductory rates start at $199.
This one is fun just from an art standpoint. "Upswing" is located in Coral Gables, Florida and is described as an art collector's dream. This four-bedroom modern home is full of light and angles with plenty of white spaces and glass walls. It's hard to take it on its own merits without considering the vivid contemporary art that dominates the space. In some cases, particularly the very bright office space, the colors may be a bit too much for someone with gentler taste. And the current furnishings don't look too comfortable, even if I am smitten by the bench that looks like a woolly bear caterpillar. I do, however, love the patchwork tile in the kitchen. Outside the home's gardens are home to orchids, a pool, fountain and a waterfall. It is listed at $4 million.
This one confounds me. We start with a prestigious location, North Bay Road in Miami Beach, the same place where Hulk Hogan recently sold another white contemporary house to director Michael Bay. From the outside this looks like a your standard contemporary with boxy lines and a sleek little glassed-in sunroom space. The outdoors check out fine, a small piece of land certainly but with a nice pool and a private wood dock with charming old-fashioned style lights. But then, let's take a look inside this six-bedroom home. It's kitsched-out within an inch of its life. The gilding, the elaborate moldings and fireplace mantles, the heavy draperies and chandeliers all create a space that is positively Liberacesque. No pictures of the bedrooms in the listing which is a shame because if the public spaces are this baroque, I can't even begin to imagine what the private spaces are like. This rescue mission is listed at $5.95 million. I hope someone picks up this house and restores its modern soul.
This home in Montverde, Florida is a new model but is set apart from the usual Florida Mediterranean by its Moroccan touches. It is a Carmen Dominguez model which was featured in the 2006 'Street of Dreams.' Spectacular notes include the cascading fountains and pools which all have a unique stepped look and light up in different colors at night. There is a large summer kitchen, courtyard, media room and five bedrooms total. The guest suite appears to be a theme room with a round bed on a tiled dais and a matching round bathtub. The swooping arches, heavy draperies and flourished fireplaces combine to make a home that is sumptuous but skirts the line into becoming a theme park of Arabian style luxury. It is listed at $7.9 million but looks to originally have been on the market for $8.5 million.
Forget the winery fantasy for a moment, let's return to the bed and breakfast fantasy. Imagine owning this piece of real estate and being the owner of a small inn in Key West, Florida. The Southernmost Point Guest House is located on Duval Street in the heart of Key West's tourist area near the official southernmost point of the Continental United States. The historic mansion is on a corner lot with gardens leading to the pool, parking, trellised patio and a wide porch that wraps around the building. There are 10 bedrooms and eight bathrooms and seven spacious apartment units in two buildings. According to the Southernmost Point Guest House website, some of the apartment condos are for sale for $650.000. This beautiful spot is listed at $4.25 million.
