“There isn’t another oceanfront house that compares to this one,” says Bob Gibb, owner of John’s Island Real Estate Company, referring to the classic French chateau-style home at 642 Ocean Road.
Listed for $9.4 million, the 6-bedroom, 7.5-bath home offers 13,635 square feet of living space on a huge 2.71-acre oceanfront lot in the prestigious John’s Island Club community.
“The land alone is worth $6 or $7 million,” says Gibb of the home’s double lot, which has 240 lineal feet of beach frontage. “The most recent oceanfront lot that sold in John’s island, a single with 120 feet of beach frontage, went for $3.1 million, and there is great interest in single lots at $3.5 million.”
Built in 1984 by a prominent family from Atlanta, the home received a multimillion renovation and upgrade after the mid-aught hurricanes. “It is in many ways new as of 2004 or 2005,” says Gibb.
The basic materials of the home are virtually indestructible, so that age is hardly a factor. Built of brick over a concrete block superstructure, the house has a slate roof – which can last for centuries – and floors of oak and marble.
“All of the windows and doors are what I call ‘belt and suspenders,’” says Gibb. “They have impact glass and storm shutters for double protection.”
The house is further protected from wind-driven waves and flooding by its elevation. “This is the highest lot in John’s Island,” Gibb says. “It is so prominent from the air that pilots use its two chimneys as a landmark when flying along the coast.”
The chimneys along with the mansard roof and tall, symmetrical, mullioned windows with shutters contribute to the home’s chateau quality and set the stage for the impressively formal interior.
Entry is through double doors with a Palladian light above into a large foyer. Straight ahead is the 21-foot by 34-foot living room with a deeply recessed ceiling curved at the edges, a stone fireplace and three perfectly proportioned French doors with fanlights above that let in the sea view and open onto a coral stone patio that surrounds the oceanfront pool.
It is handsome, aristocratic room perfectly suitable for formal entertaining in a house Gibb says was always staffed by servants. The level of detail in the crown moldings, dentil work and other wooden trim is exceptional.
To the left of the living room is the formal dining room with another deep tray ceiling; to the right is a 16-foot by 21-foot library done in traditional dark wood paneling. It has a second stone fireplace and extensive built-in shelving.
The dining room connects to both the living room and kitchen, which sits directly in front of it. Beyond the kitchen is a staircase that goes up to three bedrooms on the upper level and down to a complete suite of servant’s quarters on the lower level.
In front of the stairwell, with windows overlooking the estate’s sweeping green lawn, is an en suite 15-foot by 22-foot guest bedroom.
Proceeding down the hallway from the base of the staircase, one passes an elevator that links the home’s three levels and an elegant powder room with a gold-trimmed marble vanity that looks like it came straight from Versailles.
The hallway leads back to the front foyer. A symmetrical hall on the opposite side of the foyer leads to the 1,500-square-foot master suite. The suite includes its own foyer/dressing area with wrap-around closets, a 22-foot by 22-foot oak-floored bedroom with ocean views and French doors that lead out onto the pool patio; her bath with another dressing area wrapped in closets, a sauna and a master bath with a huge curved soaking tub; a study and a second bathroom for the man of the house.
Besides servant quarters, the lower level includes a massive finished area that is used for storage currently, but that could be adapted for any number of other uses. It connects to the three-car garage so that as many as eight or 10 automobiles can be driven into its air-conditioned, concrete-floored expanse if one had a classic car collection.
Gibb says he has seen a similar space in a nearby house converted to an indoor shooting range.
Upstairs, on the top level, are two VIP suites with sitting rooms, step-up sleeping areas and full baths, along with another smaller en suite guest room. There is also a spacious guest living room with a wet bar and deep embrasures fit into dormers on the ocean side.
Gibb says it would run $500 per square feet to build a home of comparable quality and detail, making the replacement cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $6.5 million, equivalent to the land value and adding up to a total of $12 or $13 million, which makes the asking price attractive to say the least.
“This house has to be seen to be fully appreciated,” says Gibb. “There is really nothing else like it on the market.”
The estate gains additional value from its location in John’s Island, which recently was ranked as the second best residential club in the country by John Sibbald Associates, a leading executive search firm that specializes in the private club and resort field and ranks clubs of all kinds according to a wide range of criteria.
Named one of “America’s Top 25 Golf Communities” by Travel & Leisure Golf, John’s Island offers three championship courses with a sophisticated blend of world-class golf, with English, Scottish and Old-Florida elements and charm. The Golf Club’s European-influenced Oak Room features fine dining in an old-world setting with jackets required.
In addition, there are 18 Har-tru tennis courts, air-conditioned squash courts and two of the finest, full-size croquet lawns in the country with tournaments held throughout the season.
The community’s 50,000-square-foot beach club includes an 89-foot illusion pool for lap or recreational swimming; poolside and beachside food and beverage service with kid-friendly menus; the Island Room and Ocean Hearth restaurants offering indoor and outdoor dining; an oceanfront bar; a library complete with fireplace, billiards, game tables and media room; and a teen center open 7 days a week with WiFi, Wii, XBox, Netflix, 60″ HD TV, ping pong and computer access.
Residents of the ocean-to-river club also enjoy a 3,800-square-foot fitness center offering a roster of more than 30 group fitness classes during season, including Pilates, Power Yoga and Zumba, as well as private trainers.
