SEBASTIAN — What’s it like to live in that iconic Antebellum home on the river with the widow’s walk, the one that countless people drive by and dream of owning? It’s pretty amazing, according to owner Scott Campbell.
“It’s just been a wonderful, wonderful place, we’ve had a lot of family gatherings here,” said Campbell, who is a world traveler, a sailor and a lover of the outdoors.
He and his wife Paula have thoroughly enjoyed their dozen years on the rambling, historic estate built in 1909. They love letting their Labrador retriever roam the grounds, hosting parties around the swimming pool and spending long afternoons kite boarding in the Indian River Lagoon, which is their front yard. However, it’s that time in life for the Campbells to downsize and simplify their lives so they can embark on new adventures in far-flung places of the globe, so the home is up for sale.
The estate, which has gone by both the names Riverview and Riverside and which has been said to have been built anywhere between 1904 and 1911, is a living piece of Sebastian history, as documented in the 1992 book,
“More Tales of Sebastian,” but the building is not showing its age. The home was built by the Yongue family, who were descendants of Colonial leader William Penn. Since Campbell bought the place, Scott and Paula have lovingly repaired, restored and renovated the home to give it the best of modern conveniences while retaining the turn-of-the century charm that hooked its fisherman owner one Christmas Day back in 1999.
“I decided to go for a little drive, so I drove down Roseland Road to Indian River Drive and as I was driving by and Fred Kengeter, the owner, was putting a for sale sign out front,” Campbell said. I was taken with the mystique, the grandeur of the place. It had a great feel to it. I asked if I could take a look.”
So on Christmas Day, with the tree glittering and glowing with trimmings and the house filled with the smells of a holiday dinner cooking, Scott was overcome by a scene better than any real estate staging expert could have devised.
“We were walking around upstairs and I said, ‘I’ll buy it.’ I didn’t even see out back,” Campbell said. It was love at first sight for Campbell and the four-bedroom, threebath home with nearly 3,500 square feet under air in the main house, plus a detached three-car, drive-through garage and a 360-square-foot guest cottage. The one-bedroom, one-bath cottage with kitchen and living room is actually older than the main house and was relocated to 13425 N. Indian River Drive from another location to preserve it in a fitting setting alongside the single-family residence. The total square footage of all the buildings is just under 4,500.
The 1.78-acre riverfront estate has deeded rights to property east of Indian River Drive and comes with its own 250-foot dock with boat lift and 177-feet of river frontage. Campbell installed two air-conditioning units, added blown-in insulation to increase energy efficiency and carefully repaired or replaced all the window frames and hardware using the original panes of glass.
He added weather stripping to further ensure against cold drafts, heat or moisture seeping in. The home is equipped with functional shutters and the few windows or glass doors that don’t have shutters have made-to-fit hurricane panels tucked away in the garage ready to go, if need be. A sailor at heart, Campbell has the home wellequipped and apportioned to weather life’s storms.
When he’s not in town, Campbell said he’s been successful at renting the home out to vacationers by the week. According to the listing on VacationRentals.com, the property fetches $2,500 during the summer and up to $4,500 per week during the winter season.
Campbell said he has renters who return year after year and who have gently used the home for vacation stays, so there’s an opportunity for an investor seeking some income from a second home.
The vacation rental listing touts not only the rich history of the home, but its picturesque natural setting. “Watch dolphins play, manatees swim and some incredible bird life fly by while sipping a cool beverage,” the Campbells say on the profile of the home.
“Witness the very rare and seasonal White Pelicans who frequently live on the neighboring docks feed on the abundant sea life. You’ll also see many of Florida’s protected and endangered wildlife such as the Florida Osprey, Sandhill Cranes, Wood Storks and Snowy Egrets.”
Campbell said he’s looked into what it would take to turn the estate into a charming bed and breakfast and he found that it would require one more exterior door to be cut into a bedroom and an outdoor staircase to be installed. With the scenic, waterfront location, the pool, spa and patio, the large kitchen and dining area, the guest cottage and plenty of space for parking and for strolling the grounds and enjoying the stocked catfish pond and the landscaping, the property would seem ideal to be converted into a B & B. There is also a grass volleyball court and a basketball backboard for guests to use to blow off some steam with friends and family.
The estate is listed with Realtor Michael McLoughlin and broker-founder Gene Billero of Billero and Billero Real Estate with offices on eastbound C.R. 512, or Sebastian Boulevard, in Sebastian. The price of $1.6 million has been drastically reduced from the original asking price of $3.3 million.
Billero said he’s pleased to have such a unique property to offer clients who want something totally different. In his 31 years selling real estate, he said he’d be hard-pressed to find another such gem of a historic home as the Riverview estate in the Sebastian or Vero Beach area.
“It’s pretty rare, it really is, especially in Florida you don’t find homes like this,” Billero said. “I love to have different listings. Sometimes everything looks the same, a three-bedroom, two-bath split plan – but this is not a three-bedroom, two-bath split plan. This is something you can get excited about selling.”
Campbell said the price is for the unfurnished home, but that a buyer who would like to acquire some of the antique bedding and furniture that so complement the home are welcome to inquire about the furnishings, that he is willing to negotiate.
Every dog-eared photograph or piece of artwork on the wall in the Campbell’s home tells a story, a story of travel and adventure, of fishing and the romance of living on the sea, as Campbell lived aboard his sailboat for a time. But to the passer by, to anyone who wistfully wonders about what it must have been like watching the events of the 20th century go by from the home’s stately verandah, the dream might be for those walls and those original hardwood floors and walls to reveal a little of the tale of Sebastian.
“When you look at a home such as this, it’s not such a far-fetched dream to think back and realize the history that this particular home has seen,” said Sebastian resident Phil Bova, who serves as membership director for the Sebastian Area Historical Society.
“It’s 103 years old. To be able to recount the history, the nostalgia of the growth of the area, if that house were alive today, it could tell us a wonderful story about Sebastian. It’s my favorite,” Bova said.
