A posh compound in the exclusive neighborhood of Port Royal in Naples, Florida previously made national headlines as the most expensive home for sale in America. Now it has a new price tag.
About a year ago, the waterfront property hit the market for a record $295 million.
Now, it’s a little more affordable – at $210 million.
In large part, the $85 million price adjustment reflects a change in the offering itself.
The sellers have decided to keep pieces of the property they included in the original listing, to use for themselves.
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“This decision reflects overwhelming interest from prospective buyers, who have expressed a strong desire for the unparalleled Gulf-side beachfront portion of the estate. The remaining 4.04 acres, which include the yacht basin, will be retained by the current owners,” said Dawn McKenna, with Coldwell Banker Realty, in a statement.
The Dawn McKenna Group has been marketing the property, in partnership with The Leighton Candler Team of Corcoran and Rory McMullen of Savills, since early last year.
According to Zillow, the price dropped on Jan. 17.
While it’s no longer the priciest home on the market, it still ranks as one the most expensive residential listings in the country.
Known as Gordon Pointe, the listing now includes a 5-acre parcel, with a main house and a guest house, and 941 feet of frontage on the Gulf and the bay. That much water frontage is still a rarity in Naples.
The Donahue family owns the property. A well-known Naples philanthropist, John “Jack” F. Donahue made his fortune running Pittsburgh-based Federated Investors, which he co-founded in 1955. He died in 2017, and his wife Rhodora passed away about five years later. High school sweethearts, they started amassing the land in the 1980s, which is now in the hands of their many heirs. They had 13 children, and more than 80 grandchildren.
Mike Dodge, director of education and market research for John R. Wood Properties in Naples, noted that with the price and acreage adjustment, the price per acre has actually gone up.
“I was surprised that the listing took such a steep price cut, until I realized that the price had been changed to reflect a significant change in what the seller is offering. It’s possible this change will open the opportunity up to a wider pool of potential buyers,” he said.
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Last summer, to drum up more interest, the sellers’ agents partnered with a Naples-based architect, Harrison Design, to produce renderings to help potential buyers visualize the possibilities for the one-of-a-kind property.
Those renderings, however, were based on the larger property, which spanned more than 9 acres, before the real estate offering got trimmed.
It is anticipated that the new owners would want to make the property their own, building their own family compound. If not used for a family compound, it could be subdivided to create a few homes for “a lucky few,” according to the selling agents.
At the smaller size, the estimated maximum development potential is 78,159 square feet.
Port Royal has long been known as a playground for the rich.
In March 2023, a waterfront estate in the neighborhood went on the market for more than $174 million. A price that was unheard of then.
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That property is still for sale (for a now rounded-up price of $175 million.) It overlooks the Gulf, stretching more than 8.5 acres, making it a rarity, too.
More of a rarity: The neighboring property is also up for sale on both sides, with the potential to carve out an even larger one-of-kind estate on Naples’ highly coveted Gordon Drive. Combined, they would cost $295 million, for more than 15 acres, with 812 linear feet of beach frontage.
While ownership is under different names, these three properties are tied to the DeGroote family. The family’s patriarch Michael DeGroote Sr., a Canadian billionaire, entrepreneur and philanthropist, died in 2022.
In a word, Michael McCumber, with Gulf Coast International Properties, the exclusive listing agent for all the property, has described it as “fabulous,” with the opportunity to build a true legacy estate.
If the three properties are purchased together, they could be divided into five 160-foot lots for development, as well.
Collier County’s record home sale price still stands at $62 million – set in 2022. With six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, the resort-style, Gulf-front retreat, with a living area of more than 11,800 square feet under air, in Aqualane Shores, another coveted neighborhood in Naples, sold at its asking price. It’s currently on the market for $77 million (and has been listed for as much as $88 million, as it’s come on and off the market, since its history-making sale a few years ago).
Elsewhere in Florida, Global Mansion recently reported that a local developer listed a yet-to-be built mansion for $285 million in Manalapan, a wealthy town south of Palm Beach.
According to the Palm Beach Daily News, if built, the mega mansion would stretch over four ocean-to-lake acres, off Ocean Boulevard, next to a massive estate owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp.
It has been heralded as the country’s most expensive listing for a new build.
