Jeffrey Wokutch ended up in Vero Beach quite by accident, he says.
He bought a motor coach and was doing some traveling in Florida, trying to get away from the cold Pittsburgh winters.
“I don’t like the cold,” he admits.
After checking out Port St. Lucie and Sebastian, he says, “we decided to take a drive down to this placed called ‘Vero Beach’ we happened to see on the map.”
That’s when he knew he’d found a place to settle down. “We crossed the 510 bridge and thought, ‘Wow, this place is really pretty.’ I loved that it was a quaint, quiet place with a laid-back atmosphere.”
After living on Date Palm for a while, Wokutch purchased the two-story waterfront home at 655 Live Oak Road in Bethel by the Sea, fulfilling his dream of living on the water.
“It’s a gorgeous property in a great location,” says Matilde Sorensen, broker-owner, Dale Sorensen Real Estate. “It’s Central Beach, so you’re close to everything. You can walk to town, and you’re across from a park. You can go to all the restaurants within minutes.”
Tucked behind a privacy wall, a circle drive with a wide parking area provides ample room for guests to park when they stop by for an afternoon on the river.
Sorensen adds, “with a deep-water dock, the location lends itself to boating and other water activities. And it’s just a few minutes’ ride to the Intracoastal Waterway.”
Since purchasing the home, Wokutch updated the kitchen, bathrooms, pool equipment, dock, roof, electric service, hot-water tanks and air conditioners.
Potential buyers will also appreciate the two-car, air-conditioned garage where you can store almost anything without worrying about humidity and salt air.
The front door opens into the formal living room at the center of the house. With two en-suite guest bedrooms to the left and the owner’s suite to the right, there’s plenty of privacy for everyone.
Two large openings allow entry into the family room and dining room or kitchen and breakfast nook from either end of the communal living spaces. Each of the areas enjoys river views through walls of glass. The rooms are laid out for easy entertaining – both indoors and outdoors.
A pass-thru window opens the kitchen to the dining room and family room, where folks tend to gather. High-end, stainless-steel appliances complement the white cabinetry, with the brick backsplash adding warmth.
A large office at the north end of the formal living room provides an additional buffer between the owner’s suite and the rest of the house. The laundry room is conveniently located in this wing, along with the second-floor guest loft’s staircase.
The owner’s suite enjoys private access to the patio and dual walk-in closets. The owner’s bath includes tandem sinks, a soaking tub, shower and bidet, completing the generous suite.
Upstairs a guest loft functions as the perfect spot for long-term guests to hunker down. With a full kitchen, balcony with secondary access, independent air conditioner, bathroom, sleeping, dining and seating areas, guests can come and go without interfering with first-floor activities.
The swimming pool area can be accessed from nearly every room in the house. Brick pavers surround the pool, providing plenty of space to lounge in the sun or sit under cover. Greenery creates a buffer between the patio and river with plenty of room in the fenced backyard along the seawall perimeter.
The deep-water dock accommodates up to a 40-foot boat with a 9,000-pound lift ready to hoist your toy out of the water.
A short stroll along the brick path leads you into a secluded spot with a small beach area and gas fire pit where you will feel like you’re on your own deserted island, sheltered behind the wall of tropical flora, even though you’re just steps away from the house. Landscape lighting helps set the mood in the evenings. Wokutch can control the landscape and pool lighting and speakers from his phone.
You can easily come and go with kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and more through the large gate that opens onto the front driveway, allowing another way for guests to stop by for water fun without coming through the house.
“I love the location of the house. It’s convenient to everything. You can hop on the boat or walk to the ocean in a few minutes. It’s the best spot because you can hit both places,” says Wokutch.
Bethel by the Sea, a sleepy, bungalow neighborhood located just north of the Merrill P. Barber Bridge, is convenient to mainland shopping and a short walk to the beach and the Ocean Drive shopping district. Enjoy cultural offerings at Riverside Theatre or the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
Riverside Park offers a tennis facility and boat launch just south of the neighborhood, and the City Marina and an off-leash dog park are a short bike ride away.
Photos provided
