VERO BEACH — When Thomas Laboon and his partner Brook Lenfest decided to build spec houses in Vero Beach, they made a strategic decision to target the top end of the market – a decision that looks smart right about now.
Instead of building 5,000- or 10,000-square-foot houses on their oceanfront property south of town, they are constructing 17,000-square-foot estate homes with large guesthouses that bring the total size of each property to approximately 20,000 square feet.
There are fewer buyers – locally, at least – for homes of that magnitude, but there is far less competition in terms of comparable residences.
“Only a small handful of oceanfront homes between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet were built in this market during the boom,” says Michael Thorpe, co-owner of Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty. “This group understands there is a lack of these homes and a real appetite for them among a certain elite strata of buyers.”
Laboon, a retired Navy commander and military engineer who oversaw building and renovation at the White House and Camp David during the last three years of his Navy career, has two spec homes underway, both listed for $17.9 million.
Many people who might have bought a 5,000-square-foot house on the ocean a few years back have had to retrench, but people who buy houses like these are the one percent, those who still have plenty of money and a desire to spend it on high-quality assets that appreciate.
They are also people who are highly mobile, which expands the buyer base far beyond Indian River County to Palm Beach, Miami, New York City, London, Paris, South America and just about anyplace else you can fly to and from in a private jet.
Add that demographic advantage to the general lack of oceanfront inventory on the barrier island and the higher price of comparable estate homes in South Florida and it seems like the market may very well be hungry for these magnificent houses.
“New product is absolutely needed because of the lack of oceanfront housing starts in the past three years,” says Premier Estate Properties Broker Associate Clark French.
“I think our timing is great,” says Laboon. “We believe there is a desire for large houses and we think these will sell.”
The developers enjoy other advantages besides good timing and smart market segment selection. They picked up their land at post-boom prices, which gives them lots of financial elbow room, and the deal was financed with Lenfest’s own money so there is no bank breathing down their necks.
Operating as Beachlen II LLC, the partners bought a 7-acre lot across from Round Island Park in 2008 for a mere $9 million. They later bought the parcel next door to the north and plan to build eight homes on the combined property.
“Brook was looking for property to develop and found some interesting land in Vero,” says Laboon, who is the onsite partner and project general contractor. “We bought it in 2008 and held onto it for several years, waiting for the market to improve. When it seemed like the time was right two years ago, we started working on the design. That took about six months.
“We vetted the design and plan with local brokers to see what they thought, because these are pretty large homes and we wanted to make sure we weren’t being foolish in our endeavor. We showed them some sketches and floor plans and got a thumbs-up from everybody.”
“I was impressed with the size and configuration of the homes they envisioned and amazed that someone would have the wherewithal to build on that scale in this market,” says Thorpe, one of the brokers Laboon consulted.
“I submitted the plans right before Memorial Day last year,” Laboon says. “I got them back from the state in December and sent them in to the county. They were approved by the county a couple months later and we started construction in April.”
The first phase of construction was site preparation that included trucking in 20,000 tons of sand to raise the lots 10 feet to meet coastal construction requirements and allow views of the ocean over the top of the dunes.
Next came a forest of steel reinforced concrete pilings for a hurricane-proof foundation, then the solid concrete walls of the shells which can be seen from A1A.
Laboon hopes to complete the homes by next August or September, but true-to-life renderings of them are available now on real estate websites.
Casa Bella is a 7-bedroom estate with 9 full bathrooms and 3 half baths, while Sandy Lane is a Barbados-style mansion with 8 bedrooms, 10 full baths and 3 half-baths. Room counts include guesthouse accommodations.
Laboon listed Casa Bella with Thorpe and his partner Kimberly Hardin at Treasure Coast and placed the Sandy Lane listing with French and his partner Cindy O’Dare at Premier Estate Properties.
“I interviewed quite a few brokers before placing the listings,” says Laboon. “My partner has dealt with Sotheby’s before in things like art auctions and liked the idea of having an international company involved. Premier was already in the picture because we bought the land from them. We wanted to let each of them have a shot and compete and see what happens.”
Everyone involved in the project rhapsodizes about the quality of construction and finish in the houses.
“They are extraordinarily well-designed,” says Thorpe.
“The setting, the Barbados-style architecture and exquisite authentic materials, coupled with Tom’s experience in the highest caliber of construction is combining to make Sandy Lane a fantastic, world-class estate,” says French.
“Brook Lenfest is a visionary,” says O’Dare. “He is bringing a style to Vero never seen here before based on his travels and time spent in Barbados.”
“We are paying close attention to every detail,” says Laboon. “Brook and I were talking the other night about the handrail on the circular staircase in Casa Bella. I told him I didn’t want to use a standard rail because people coming to look at this house will probably have been around the world numerous times and seen a lot of great things in houses. We don’t want anything to seem like we cut corners.”
The high quality of design, materials and workmanship is no shock. It is expected in homes of this caliber.
But the demand for this type of product in the current market and the competitive edge of this particular project may come as a surprise to some real estate observers.
“The subcontractors who are building my houses all say they are busy building homes as big as this or bigger in Palm Beach, and these are a bargain compared to the houses down there.”
“Houses this size on the island in Palm Beach would be double the cost,” says Thorpe, and a quick look at Palm Beach listings backs him up.
A 13,200-square-foot waterfront mansion with 7 bedrooms, 8 full baths and 5 partial baths in Palm Beach is on the market for $38 million, and an oceanfront lot the size of the lots Laboon’s houses sit on is listed for $22 million, sans house.
Because of the mobility of the highest- end buyers, the Vero properties are directly competitive with the properties in Palm Beach, and both listing brokers have the national and international marketing reach to be sure anyone looking at a Palm Beach property will see the nearby Vero offerings as well.
The brokers also emphasize the unique “quietly sophisticated” lifestyle in the estate section, which some buyers will prefer over the busy, socially-intense Palm Beach way of life.
“I have received an amazing amount of hits on that house (Sandy Lane) on my website and two separate buyers have flown in to see and monitor the progress Tom is making,” O’Dare says.
“We have had more than 13,000 hits on our Casa Bella listing,” says Thorpe. “If even 10 percent of those are legitimate buyers that is impressive. I am very pleased with the level of interest we have seen so far.
“It’s not like this is a pioneering effort in that area. A home sold down there recently for $25 million and another has been on the market for $20 million. Tom is continuing a trend of great houses in the estate section, not testing the water.”
“Naturally, I want to be optimistic because I am the builder, but I really think we are in a great spot,” says Laboon. “When I talk to the people at Treasure Coast and Premier, they say they sold everything they had last year and tell me to hurry up and finish these because they can sell them too.
“I would expect them to tell me that in any case, but I actually think it is true. I really think they can.”
