The real estate high season got off to an unofficial start last week with a gala preview of the most expensive property listed for sale on the island.
The 18,000-square-foot modernist masterpiece at 3700 Ocean Drive was designed by Erik Helgen, AIA, in collaboration with Alloy Development, and built by island contractor Joe Foglia. Completed in 2014, it sits on a prime 1.4-acre lot with 200 lineal feet of frontage on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between the Spires condominiums and the Jaycee Park boardwalk, within easy walking distance of all the shops and restaurants along Ocean and Cardinal in Vero’s seaside village.
The 8-bedroom, 10-bath, two-story home with guest house and two swimming pools is owned by businesswoman and developer Katherine McConvey, who listed it with Premier Estate Properties broker associate Kay Brown for $35 million.
“In my opinion, this is the most spectacular ocean estate currently listed for sale in Florida,” says Brown. “With 200 feet of direct oceanfront privacy in the heart of the village in Vero Beach, it is within walking distance of fine restaurants and shopping. This magical residence rivals any home in terms of unique architectural design, quality of construction, design detail and amenities, offering an exceptional Florida coastal lifestyle.”
On her website, Brown calls the home “A tour de force of modern elegance, designed for those who love to entertain . . . [the] residence connects with the landscape in a seamless indoor/outdoor flow with distinct areas for entertaining, everyday living and guest accommodations. The layered composition of limestone, wood, and glass gives privacy while taking in the expansive ocean vista and the pools and water features in the tropical setting created by landscape architect August Gerard Schwartz.”
The house features sophisticated electronics, including Crestron home automation controls for lighting, audio/visual, shades, security and other systems. There is a six-bay garage beneath the guest house and two two-bay garages connected to the main house, one with a motorized turntable.
Brown showcased the property to the real estate community on Wednesday evening at a catered affair that featured a Rolls Royce Dawn – the elite brand’s newest model – on display, and a virtual reality video of the soon-to-be built 8050 condominium project in Indian River Shores.
8050 is another project by Alloy Development, a company McConvey co-founded with architect Jared Della Valle in New York City in 2006, and it will express the same modern aesthetic as McConvey’s house.
When 8050 was first announced last spring, McConvey said it was community response to her contemporary home that inspired her and Della Valle to move ahead with the 18 high-end oceanfront condos.
“I am a private person and not a whole lot of people have been in the house. But every time I have had people over it surprises me how much they love the house,” she said. “They are amazed at how different it is from their vision of what ‘modern’ structures are like. The positive response has been overwhelming. The house is much warmer and more livable than people expect and people will find that 8050 is a warm and lovely place to live as well.
“Our biggest consideration when we thought about this project was whether Vero Beach is really interested in the type of design we provide. We are convinced the community is ready for this and confident of a very positive reception.”
On hand at the reception to talk about 8700 Ocean and 8050 were Della Valle and two other Alloy architects who flew in from New York and Joe Liguori, Carmen D’Angelo and Gerry Liguori, co-owners of Premier Estate Properties, which has offices in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale as well as Vero Beach, selling homes priced at $1 million or more.
Premier followed up the Wednesday event with another well-attended reception Thursday night at its Vero Beach office, where sales centers just opened for 8050 and Surf Club, another oceanfront condominium project that will break ground this season on the island.
Represented by Brown and Premier broker associates Cindy O’Dare and Clark French, Surf Club will be 11 luxury units, offered for $2.5 million to $3 million. The project is scheduled to break ground in December and three condos have already been sold.
Island brokers are expecting a strong 2015-16 sales season, limited only by a shortage of inventory in some price categories.
“Since the beginning of November we have experienced much more activity than we expected,” said Michael Thorpe, co-owner of Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty. “We expect a continuation of similar transactional numbers and rising prices during the season. The limiting factor is inventory . . . but our firm should fare well as we have developed relationships with builders and investors. Thankfully many new homes and condos are commencing construction in the next few months and we expect these will sell as they are completed or sooner!”
Bob Gibb, owner of John’s Island Real Estate, said his business accelerated in November and he expects a busy season ahead.
“The low end of the market – $2 million and under – is very hot and we are maintaining good sales activity across the board despite a much reduced inventory. Condominium prices are appreciating and we are hopeful that appreciation will spread up through the $3-million to $5-million properties.
“There is a backlog of buyers. We have orders, so to speak, for properties that are purchased as soon as they are listed, with multiple interested parties for certain types of properties.”
We feel our upcoming season will be extraordinary,” says Brown. “We have had our busiest summer ever and are currently working with more prospective buyers than last year. Our current inventory offers challenges but there are many outstanding values on homes and home sites on the barrier island that will be very desirable to our forthcoming buyers.”
