Inside a $218 million private island in Palm Beach – Florida’s most expensive home for sale USA News Update

A private island in Palm Beach could become the most expensive home ever sold in Florida, if it gets its asking price of $218 million.

Developer Todd Michael Glaser and partners bought 10 Tarpon Isle — Palm Beach’s only private island — for $85 million in 2021. They built a brand new home, turned the existing structure into a guesthouse, and added a giant swimming pool, tennis courts and other amenities and have now relisted the property.

“I paid $85 million without hesitation because there’s only one,” Glaser said. “You’re looking at art, they’re selling. There’s a Mercedes 300 SLR that just sold for $142 million. … It’s what it is … it’s a unique piece.”

When Glaser bought Tarpon Isle, it had a modest 1940s home and lots of potential.

“I came to the bridge, saw the two trees and said, ‘Guys, let’s tear down the garage, guest house and maid’s quarters and build a brand new house,'” he said. said Glaser.

The new main house is over 9,000 square feet. Along with the guest house, tennis pavilion and other structures, the property now has over 21,000 feet of living space. There are 11 bedrooms, 15 full bathrooms and seven powder rooms.

Unlike many Palm Beach mansions, which are Mediterranean-style behemoths adorned with gold carvings and mahogany, Tarpon Isle is a study in modern simplicity, where the star of the house offers sweeping water views. on all four sides.

The master suite is a large complex of closets, bathrooms and sitting areas. The larger of the two bathrooms is a temple of white Italian marble, spanning the floors, counters, ceiling, and oversized shower. A large soaking tub perched in front of the windows overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway.

“It’s the best bathroom I’ve ever done,” Glaser said. “My wife chose it and she did an amazing job. I’ve never seen anything like it in this bathroom.”

Outside there is a new 98ft swimming pool overlooking the water view to the south. A large dock can accommodate several boats or a mega-yacht. The guesthouse has resort-like amenities including a spa, massage room, salon, and entertainment area.

“That’s how we designed it,” Glaser said. “When people come to Palm Beach, they bring their families, they’re on vacation.”

Glaser said the man-made island, which was built in the 1940s, has a high sea wall. Because it’s well-protected in the intracoastal and well-mannered, it easily withstood large storms and tidal surges, he said.

Admittedly, $218 million is an ambitious price, even for Palm Beach. The record sale in the enclave was Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s $173 million purchase of billionaire Jim Clark’s beachfront estate last year.

Palm Beach is the most expensive real estate market in the country, with an average sale price of nearly $13 million, according to Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. Many homes have seen their prices more than triple during the pandemic as ultra-wealthy buyers from the Northeast have fled to Florida, and coveted Palm Beach properties in particular.

Christopher Leavitt of Douglas Elliman, who lists the property alongside Christian Angle Real Estate, said interest in the property was strong, particularly from hedge fund managers and finance chiefs looking to move into South.

“The buyer of this home is someone who wants the one and only private island on Palm Beach Island, surrounded 360 degrees by water, accessible by your boat or a private deck,” Leavitt said. “He’s someone who wants this property that no one else has, this trophy property.”

Glaser declined to say how much profit he would make if the house sold for the asking price. He added that he and his investors had spent “a fortune” on the new home and improvements. But he said the buyer will be making a long-term investment.

“Anyone who buys this house, five years from now they will be very happy with the purchase,” he said. “It’s an inherited property that they will own for the rest of their lives.”