The largest estate in Windsor has come on the market for $16 million. If it sells at that price or close to it, it would also be the most expensive property ever sold in the elite country club community at the north end of the island.
Owned by former Goldman Sachs partner Frank Brosens and listed in July by Douglas Elliman broker associate Michael Merrill, the expansive estate has created a stir in the national real estate press, with glowing articles in Robb Report, Mansion Global, Lux Exposé and numerous other publications.
“Even though it is quiet summertime in Vero, we launched the property on such a scale nationally and internationally that we’ve had incredible interest and multiple showings,” Merrill told Vero Beach 32963.
Built by Brosens in 2014 as a multigenerational compound on a 1.7-acre double lot, the estate includes a grand main house and four substantial guest houses that between them have 17,649 square feet under roof, including 13,317 square feet of air-conditioned space, with 13 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms.
“Set along oak-lined Savannah Place with sweeping views of Windsor’s fairways and lakes, this architecturally striking home offers a rare blend of scale, light, and flow. Expansive glass walls open to broad terraces, while artisan terrazzo floors and a mosaic-tiled water feature add refined character,” according to Douglas Elliman, which calls the estate, “a true legacy property.”
“The views are incredible,” says Merrill who is co-listing the house with fellow Douglas Elliman broker associate Johnny DelPrete from the company’s Jupiter office. “You can see almost the entire golf course, as well as sunrise and sunset, from the back veranda.
“The owner has a large family, and he built the guest houses so that everyone could have their own comfortable private space while visiting and then gather in the spectacular main house for memorable events and celebrations.”
Right from the entry hall of the main house is a 41-foot by 20-foot living room/dining room that opens onto a 14-foot by 60-foot veranda where the sweeping views are on tap, creating a 1,660-square foot, indoor/outdoor central gathering space.
At one end of the space is an ultra-luxe kitchen and a 21-foot by 27-foot family room with a vaulted ceiling and its own terrace, in case there isn’t enough room in the central space.
At the other end, left from the entry hall, is an approximately 15-foot by 50-foot primary suite where the host can retire after the party. It includes two bathrooms, two walk-in closets, a study and an elegant dream of bedroom with mullioned glass walls and endless green views.
The main house also includes a two large ensuite guest bedrooms, a 41-foot by 20-foot Billard room where you don’t have to worry about banging the wall with your cue when you are making a shot, and a laundry room so spacious and well equipped that Merrill said he would start doing his family’s laundry if he had one like it.
All the details of the rest of estate, including the 40-foot long swimming pool, fireplace loggia, game room, guest houses and grounds can be found on the Douglas Elliman website.
Merrill and DelPrete are launching the house into a hot Windsor market that has seen 13 sales so far this year, ranging from $1.9 million to $15 million and totaling nearly $80 million. The $15 million oceanfront sale in April set the current price record for the community.
The booming Windsor market is emblematic of sales trends at the upper end of the 32963 market so far this year, with the island’s top country club communities leading the way in luxury and ultraluxury sales.
“The quality and operation of the club is what drives the value of real estate in these communities,” says Merrill. “Windsor has done an incredible job creating outstanding amenities and a wonderful community. People love the village lifestyle where you can go everywhere in your golf cart.
Besides a championship golf course renovated two years ago, a beautiful beach club and a tennis center, Windsor has an extensive equestrian setup with stables, a polo field and miles of winding trails.
“You can put Windsor’s amenities up against the finest clubs in the world and they will equal or surpass them,” Merrill says.
Besides access to a full-featured club lifestyle, the hot county club home market on the island is driven by a strong value proposition.
“A client of mine told me that after looking in Palm Beach and Naples, Vero seemed like The Dollar Store,” Merrill says. “If this listing was in Palm Beach, it would be $60 million or even $70 million.”
Besides running a seven-person team with four agents at the Douglas Elliman office on Ocean Drive, Merrill is part of the Exclusive Group, a team of eight Douglas Elliman agents operating in the upper echelons of the luxury market from Miami up to Vero Beach.
Brosens approached DelPrete in the Elliman office in Jupiter and he brought the listing to Merrill as a Vero Beach expert.
The buyer might very well come from South Florida, too, according to Merrill, who says longstanding interest in Vero Beach from South Florida has ramped up in the past two years, with Vero getting ever more attention in Miami, Palm Beach and other points south.
“The value catches their attention and, when they come up, the lifestyle closes the deal,” he says.
After 15 years as a partner at Goldman Sachs, Brosens founded Taconic Capital, an $8-billion hedge fund, in 1999.
He purchased the double lot in Windsor fourteen years later, in 2013, paying $2.5 million according to county records, and built the estate at 3340 Savannah Place the following year.
When his Windsor house sells, he will not be homeless. Besides the 32963 property he owns an ultraluxury apartment in Manhattan, a home in South Hampton and a house in Massachusetts, according to Realtor.com.
Photos provided
