An Internet billionaire sells the most expensive home ever sold in Florida.
A mansion just south of Palm Beach sold for $173 million, making it the most expensive home in Florida to ever change hands.
A mansion just south of Palm Beach sold for $173 million, making it the most expensive home in Florida to ever change hands.
The ocean-to-lake estate at 2000 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan was bought from a trust linked to Netscape co-founder Jim Clark by a company run by software billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle, according to a deed filed Wednesday.
Since the coronavirus pandemic sent the South Florida real estate market into overdrive, there have been more than the usual number of sales over $20 million in Manalapan. As the number of waterfront estates in Palm Beach has gone down, buyers have been looking south to Manalapan, which has properties that go from the ocean to the lake. This has driven up prices in Manalapan.
Recent sales include a vacant lot for $40 million, a house for $89.93 million, which was the second highest sale in Manalapan, and a mansion for $79.5 million that was still being built.
Clark, a billionaire, bought the house at 2000 S. Ocean Blvd. and part of nearby Bird Island from the Ziff family in February 2021 for a total price of $94.37 million. However, sources familiar with the deal told the Daily News that more than $100 million actually changed hands.
Based on past sales listings, here are 10 things you should know about the Sunshine State's most expensive home ever sold.
Amazing views
The estate is on top of a dune and has views in all directions. The main house and guesthouses have open-air loggias, terraces, balconies, and French doors with views of the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Worth Lagoon, and the area around them. This makes it easy to live both inside and outside.
What is the estate's name?
Gemini is the name of the estate because the main house is on both sides of South Ocean Boulevard.
The beach and ocean are close to this house.
The 15.65-acre ocean-to-lake estate is split in two by South Ocean Boulevard. It has 1,200 feet of beach along the Atlantic and 1,300 feet of frontage on the Lake Worth Lagoon. The total land area is 22.44 acres, which includes a piece of an island in the Intracoastal Waterway that is right next to the estate.
How many bedrooms and bathrooms does this mansion have?
Inside and out, the property's many buildings add up to almost 85,000 square feet of living space. They have 33 bedrooms, 34 bathrooms, and 13 powder rooms.
How big is the main house?
The main house has 12 bedrooms and about 62,200 square feet of living space. The basement is about 17,950 square feet. Inside, there is a lot of stone, rich wood millwork, a grand staircase, and a lot of wall space where the Ziff family's famous art collection was shown. There are coffers, exposed beams, and a lot of pecky-cypress details in the ceilings. The layout has both formal and casual living and dining rooms, a media room, libraries, offices, a wine cellar, and two elevators.
Is there a place to stay?
There are also two beach cottages with each four bedrooms, a guest house with seven bedrooms, and a guest or staff house with four studios and apartments.
What do we know about the estate that we don't already know?
A series of tunnels under the street connect the two parts of the main house, one of which faces the lake and the other the ocean. As an art gallery, a 15-foot-wide tunnel is used.
The property has a bird sanctuary and a butterfly garden, as well as a large botanical garden with nearly 1,500 tropical species.
Do you have a pool?
A PGA-standard golf practise area, a regulation tennis court, a half basketball court, a freshwater pond, an 18-hole miniature golf course, a boat dock, and a pool are among the recreational features.
Who made the house?
The first house was built in the 1940s for the Lambert Pharmaceutical family. It was designed by the architect Marion Sims Wyeth.
When was the house built and when was it redone?
The Ziff family paid for a complete makeover of the property, which was finished in 2002. It included rebuilding the house according to a plan by well-known Palm Beach architect Edson E. Dailey.