Jerry and Karen Fox were introduced to John’s Island in the 1990s when they visited friends for a weekend at the prestigious club community.
“We liked it a lot,” says Jerry, a retired investment professional originally from Connecticut. “We ended up buying an apartment in Palm Beach, a very nice place, but my wife never forgot John’s Island.”
In 2000, the couple gave up the pleasures of Palm Beach and moved to their home at 731 Shady Lake Lane to enjoy Vero’s Barrier Island lifestyle.
Even now, when they are ready to sell their lovely Georgian home on a quiet oak-lined street 1.7 miles from the main clubhouse, they are staying in John’s Island.
“They are ready for a smaller place and they bought a golf cottage,” says Matilde Sorensen, broker at Dale Sorensen Real Estate, who listed the 3-bedroom, 4-bath, 3,660-square-foot house for $1,685,000. “Since they have already purchased a new home, they are very motivated sellers.”
Buyers will be motivated, too, from the moment they pull up in front of the hip-roofed home that backs up to a lake full of snook that Sorensen believes is fed by the Indian River Lagoon. “The water is always moving, always lovely,” she says.
“The fishing is great!” says Fox.
The home’s front landscaping is defined by five mature live oak trees that predate the club’s development. They were preserved when well-known Vero architect George Bollis and builder David Croom worked together to construct the residence and they bestow on the property a serenity and sense of place hard to come by in a modern subdivision.
Tropical understory landscaping fills in beneath the oak trees and a brick-trimmed concrete walkway leads from the semi-circular driveway up to a large covered porch and double entry doors with sidelights.
The doors open into a traditional foyer. Beyond the foyer is a gallery and then the formal living room with fireplace and three French doors that lead out onto a huge covered back veranda and let in views of the grassy lawn and lake. Blond oak floors and crown molding add to the elegance of the inviting room.
The foyer is flanked by an office/den on each side and there is a powder room at either end of the front gallery. The luxurious master suite with a large bedroom that opens onto the back veranda, two walk-in closets and a marble-tiled bathroom occupies the left side of the first floor. To the right is an expansive space that encompasses a 20-foot by 24-foot kitchen, spacious family room and breakfast area.
“They went with a great room concept,” Fox says of the home’s designers. “One of the best things about the house is that it offers single-story living. And that single story encompasses a lot of the outdoors with the big screened-in porches. We really only used the upstairs when we had guests.”
“It is a lovely house for people who have grandchildren coming down and a perfect house for just two people,” Sorensen says. “The upstairs is one of my favorite parts of the house. There are two huge bedrooms, a second living room with a balcony that overlooks the lake, and a bunk room.”
The Foxes’ grandchildren loved visiting them in the house. “They had the nice private rooms upstairs, which isn’t too shabby,” says Fox. “And of course they liked the club. The liked being at the pool with the other kids and all the other things John’s Island offers.”
Fox says he enjoys the wide range of adult activities and amenities at John’s Island. “It is a large club with the benefits of size, and they do everything right. They never disappoint.”
JI members have access to three 18-hole championship golf courses and a tennis center with 18 Har-tru courts and multiple dining venues ranging from causal to fine dining. There are squash courts, croquet lawns a state-of-the-art fitness center and a 50,000-square-foot beach club.
According to John’s Island Real Estate, the Beach Club includes “an 89-foot illusion pool for lap or recreational swimming, a pool deck, lounge area and wading pool, poolside and beachside service and walk-up window with kid-friendly menus, the Island Room and Ocean Hearth offering indoor and outdoor dining, Rafters, a casual ocean bar overlooking the Atlantic Ocean serving breakfast and lunch menus with tapas throughout the evening, outdoor, oceanside living room with fireplace, a library complete with a cozy fireplace, billiards, game tables and a media room with internet-cable, and the Cave, a teen center open 7 days/week with WiFi, Wii, XBox, Netflix, 60″ HD TV, computer access, ping pong, and food service.”
Fox says the house at 731 Shady Lake Lane is in an enviable location within the club, especially for a family with children or grandchildren.
“There are neighbors on either side but no neighbors behind or across the street,” he says, “and the street is very quiet, so kids can play out there and ride their bikes [without dodging traffic].”
The home does not have a swimming pool, but Sorensen points out there is ample space in the large, grassy back yard to build a pool on the shore of the lake, with plans already drawn up.
“It is a beautifully-priced house in a wonderful location in pristine condition,” Sorensen says.