A posh Port Royal compound in Naples has made national headlines as the most expensive home for sale in America.
A story about the listing first appeared in the Wall Street Journal, offered up as an exclusive to the publication by the seller’s agents. News – and marketing – has spread since then to other national and local media.
The price tag for the property: $295 million.
While it’s technically the most expensive listing for sale, there is another offering that could match it, with the combination of three other legacy properties that hit the market in the same neighborhood last year that would cost the same.
Here’s more to know about the new listing:
What’s for sale?
Known as Gordon Pointe, the gated compound stretches a little over 9 acres. It includes about 708 feet of beachfront and Gulf of Mexico views, 952 feet of bay views, an “exclusive and extremely rare” yacht basin, measuring 231 feet, and a T-shaped dock for up to six boats.
What else does it offer?
There is not just one, but three houses on the property, built over time. There is also the potential to redevelop the site, with a larger family compound, or with a “subdivided community for a lucky few,” with at least six houses, according to the selling agents.
Who owns the property?
The Donahue family. 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 died about five years later, in 2022. 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.
More:Naples philanthropist John “Jack” Donahue dies at age 92
The exclusive listing agents are Coldwell Banker Realty’s Dawn McKenna Group, in partnership with The Leighton Candler Team of Corcoran and Rory McMullen of Savills.
“One of the reasons that we’re so excited about Gordon Pointe is that it provides exactly the type of compound our clientele of luxury buyers want,” said Leighton Candler, founder of The Leighton Candler Team, Corcoran, in a statement. “They love seclusion, they love privacy, and they love being on the water. Gordon Pointe gives you all the benefits of being on an island, without being isolated from the rest of the world, making this an exceedingly rare and exceptional property.”
In 2017, the Donahue family made headlines when they began exploring the sale of 70 acres of beachfront property on Gordon Pointe and nearby Keewaydin Island, sending out a 62-page confidential offering memo to prospects worldwide. The offering was unpriced, and it included only a portion of what the family owned on Gordon Pointe, with Jack and Rhodora still alive and wanting to keep and enjoy two of their residences at the time.
Robert McEwan, one of two CBRE agents marketing that property, said parts of the listing sold for more than $45 million in 2019. Several lots that didn’t go the last time around are part of the new offering, he said.
Asked how long he thought it might take to sell the new listing, bases on his own experience, McEwan said: “You never know with uber luxury things. A guy can see an article on it and come down and buy it right away.”
He added: “These kinds of sales don’t happen very often, so there really is no history to go by, on what and when.”
There’s no question in his mind that the property will find a buyer, due to its secluded and scenic location at the end of Gordon Drive.
“It’s easy to love the property,” McEwan said. “I’ve been selling waterfront properties, land around Florida for 30-plus years, and seen most of them. But this is probably one of the top two or three oceanfront properties in the whole state of Florida.”
He commented that he wouldn’t be surprised if the eventual sale shatters records in Naples, and elsewhere in the country.
“There are a lot of wealthy people in the world and Naples is not the sleepy little town it used to be,” McEwan said. “A lot of wealthy people bring their wealthy friends there, so more and more people are discovering it.”
More:Naples family might sell 70 ‘amazing and unique’ acres that include beach
Port Royal has long been known as a playground for the rich.
Nearly a year ago, a waterfront estate in the neighborhood came to market for more than $174 million. A price that was unheard of then. It’s still for sale.
The beachfront property, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, is expansive, stretching more than 8.5 acres, making it a rarity, too.
More of a rarity: Neighboring property is 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, a search of the Internet reveals the 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, described it as “fabulous.”
“The valuation reflects the high demand for waterfront property in our area, along with the sheer size of the grounds. Residents continue to see the benefits of living in our pristine region and there happens to be a large building boom taking place on Gordon Drive right now, which will be spectacular when complete. This estate represents incredible land value and an opportunity for someone to create the lifestyle of their dreams.”
John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate’s top-producing team of Bill Earls and Larry Lappin has a listing for a 1.48-acre property next door to the Donahue compound that’s going for $63 million and includes 275 feet of beachfront.
“It does have extraordinary waterfront wrap-around views,” Earls said of that site. “It’s just a vacant lot.”
Asked about the record home listing next door, he added: “It’s a world-class property. So, it only takes one person to absolutely insist that they have to have it and be willing to pay whatever it takes to be on the deed.”
In case you missed it:Port Royal estate lists for more than $174 million. Here’s what we know
Since Hurricane Ian, Naples has seen other trophy properties come to market at eye-popping prices.
The uber-luxury home market wasn’t as hot last year, as it was in 2022.
However, 2023 still brought a few whopping sales.
The most expensive home sold last year fetched $46.8 million – also in Port Royal. The purchase price for the furnished single-family estate at 1672 Galleon Drive was the highest ever paid for an off-beach residential property in the neighborhood, and all of Collier County.
Collier County’s record home price still stands at $62 million – set in 2022.
That record broke the previous one by $10 million.
“That’s a testament to the property, and to the market at the time,” said Paul Arpin, the listing agent, with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, in a recent interview. “It’s still the top sale.”
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.
More:Luxury market levels off: Southwest Florida’s top home sales in 2023
According to the Wall Street Journal, the current U.S. home sale record was set in 2019 for a penthouse purchased by Citadel’s Ken Griffin on Billionaires’ Row in Manhattan. He paid $240 million for it.
