A Newly Built Oceanfront Compound in the Florida Keys With Its Own Sandy Beach Lists for $40 Million
The land was previously owned by the late naturalist Herbert Zim, the founder of the Golden Guides nature book series.
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It’s the second-most-expensive listing in all of the Keys, topped by a property just down the road that’s asking $42 million.
The roughly 7-acre spread on Plantation Key was previously home to the five-house compound of the late naturalist Herbert Zim, the founder and editor in chief of the Golden Guides nature book series.
The main house and guest house are available separately or as a package. Ginger Monteleone
For many decades, it was both Zim’s family estate and where he produced his Golden Guides, according to the current owner, Todd Maino. He bought the property, which encompasses six parcels, from Zim’s estate, he said. Mansion Global couldn’t determine what Maino paid.
Over the course of about four years, Maino, a commercial and residential developer, transformed the property into a new compound that was completed last year. There’s a new 8,200-square-foot main house with five bedrooms and a renovated three-bedroom guest house. Maino said he left some cosmetic details unfinished to allow the next owner to personalize the home.
“They can make it their own instead of buying somebody else’s vision,” he said.
The pool stretches 120 feet long. Ginger Monteleone
Off the main house, there’s a 120-foot pool with a hot tub, and beyond that, a sandy beach extends along the property’s 480 feet of water frontage. There’s a dock within a grandfathered-in boat basin that’s larger and deeper than what would be allowed today.
“The drag is over 6 feet, so you can have a pretty large boat there,” listing agent Angel Nicolas of the Nicolas Group at Serhant said. He and his colleague Courtney Conley listed the property a week ago.
The property is full of Florida wildlife, from osprey and sandpiper nests to peacocks that wander around.
“I actually had a manatee have a baby in the boat basin,” Maino said. “It’s ecologically balanced with nature. It’s not concrete jungle—it’s not Miami.”
Because much of the property is open land and not covered in protected trees, there’s opportunity to further develop the estate, whether that be adding another house or amenities like a tennis court or a helipad.
The main house and guest house, which stand on their own waterfront parcels, are also available for sale separately. The lot with the guest house is priced at $15 million, while the main-house lot is asking $27 million, Nicolas said.
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A Sydney couple has paid $15.5 million for the Grand Penthouse at Marquee’s $285 million La Belle Residences beachfront development which is nearing completion at Palm Beach, eclipsing the record for an off-the-plan apartment sale on the southern Gold Coast. The sprawling single level 640 sqm beachfront residence, with sweeping views of the Gold Coast …
Continue reading “$15.5m La Belle Penthouse eclipses southern Gold Coast record”
On the owner’s deck, a 20-metre swimming pool incorporates Feadship’s patented ContraWave technology and extends indoors as a suspended, glass-bottomed infinity pool.
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The Sydney developer-builder, which typically retains its projects, is offering 54 residences off the plan on Spencer Street, with prices starting at $3.9 million.
HSN Property Group has launched Maison Jolene in Rose Bay, giving buyers a rare opportunity to purchase off the plan from a developer-builder that has spent more than two decades building a predominantly build-to-hold portfolio in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. HSN values that portfolio at $4 billion.
Located at 2–16 Spencer Street, Maison Jolene comprises 54 residences, including house-sized two- and three-bedroom apartments, sub-penthouses and penthouses. Prices start at $3.9 million, according to HSN, with many residences designed to capture views across Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour and the city skyline.
James Nixon, head of projects at The Rubinstein Group, is handling the sales campaign alongside agency founder Gavin Rubinstein. He says the launch is an unusual opportunity for buyers who have followed the developer’s work.
“HSN is renowned for building entire projects and rarely selling a single apartment to the open market, so Maison Jolene really is a first for potential buyers who have been following the brand across previous projects,” Nixon says.
HSN worked with architecture practice MHN Design Union and interiors studio The Unlisted Collective on the development. A rhythm of arches and deep-set openings gives the building its presence on Spencer Street, while the residences are positioned to make the most of natural light, privacy and outlook. Landscaping frames the arrival and carries through to the shared outdoor spaces.
“Maison Jolene was conceived to bring a touch of European elegance to Rose Bay, drawing on the understated charm of Mayfair and the romance of Paris while remaining grounded in the relaxed character of Sydney’s eastern suburbs,” says Rafi Assouline, founder and director of HSN Property Group.
The apartments were designed with established Rose Bay downsizers in mind. Large kitchens, generous storage and flexible living areas are intended to ease the move from a family home, with layouts that can also accommodate families and professionals looking for more space in an apartment.
The shared amenities are designed as an extension of those homes. Residents will have access to a lounge, private dining room and landscaped alfresco entertaining area. A wellness retreat brings together a magnesium pool, cold plunge, sauna, steam room and heated stone recovery bench, alongside a gym and dedicated space for Pilates and yoga.
Inside the apartments, the curves of the façade recur in the cabinetry and balustrades. Custom wall sconces, tapware and patterned parquetry sit alongside carved marble basins, hammered-glass shower screens and recessed stone niches. Timber veneer wardrobes have leather-clad drawers, while an Art Deco-inspired motif appears in the raised ceiling detail, joinery and built-in velvet bedheads.
“Maison Jolene is at once contemporary and old world, with custom-designed parquetry flooring and an art deco-inspired motif juxtaposing with the curvature of the arched facade, balustrade and internal cabinetry,” Assouline says.
The kitchens bring several of those ideas together in a sculptural, bubble-shaped island. Assouline helped design and engineer the curved form and personally selected the marble, which is bookmatched so the veining mirrors across adjoining pieces.
“With each of our projects, I look for symmetry in design,” he says. “Crafting the apartments is like solving a puzzle of one thousand pieces; one little detail wrong could mean the picture doesn’t translate correctly once it’s finished.”
HSN will develop and build Maison Jolene, overseeing the project from design through to construction. The family-owned company says it has delivered more than 270 homes, has 200 apartments under construction and has a 100 per cent completion record.
“As a private, integrated developer-builder, we maintain close control over every stage of a project,” Assouline says. “We see our projects as collaborative partnerships with our architects, interior designers and specialist trades with whom we have refined a very unique aesthetic, to ensure every detail is considered for those who will live there.”
For Nixon, the developer’s involvement in both design and construction is part of the pitch to buyers. “The attention to design excellence, combined with HSN’s proven track record in delivering ultra-high-end developments, ensures a level of rarity and enduring quality seldom seen in today’s market,” he says.
“To purchase an HSN property is to acquire a property that will not just hold its value but stand the test of time as a timeless piece of Sydney real estate.”
The Spencer Street address puts residents close to Rose Bay’s village cafés and restaurants, foreshore walks and ferry service, with beaches, golf courses and schools nearby. Maison Jolene is now selling off the plan through James Nixon and Gavin Rubinstein.
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