A Newly Built Oceanfront Compound in the Florida Keys With Its Own Sandy Beach Lists for $40 Million
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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.

By Casey Farmer
Mon, May 18, 2026 10:13amGrey Clock 2 min
A newly completed waterfront compound in the Florida Keys hit the market last week for $40 million.

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.

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.

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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Château d’Ansembourg and the adjacent Domaine du Presbytère d’Ansembourg are on the market for €37.5 Million 

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An almost 900-year-old castle in Luxembourg has hit the market for €37.5 million (US$43.3 million), making it the most expensive residential property ever offered for sale in the small European country.

The listing comprises the ancient Château d’Ansembourg and the adjacent Domaine du Presbytère d’Ansembourg, which are within central Luxembourg’s Valley of the Seven Castles.

Château d’Ansembourg is one of the seven castles the valley is named for and is regarded as one of the country’s most important privately owned châteaus, according to Ignace Meuwissen, the founder of Whisper Auctions, who is handling the sale.

The castle sits at the heart of an almost 500-acre estate overlooking the picturesque village of Ansembourg, and records of its existence date to 1135.

Domaine du Presbytère d’Ansembourg, meanwhile, is a more than 110-acre estate comprising a former presbytery, a chapel dating to 1678, a historic school site, forests and meadows.

“Properties of this calibre rarely become available,” Meuwissen said.

“What is being offered today is far more than a chateau. The combination of nearly nine centuries of documented history, 245 hectares of land and a unique location in the Valley of the Seven Castles creates an opportunity that is exceptionally rare within Europe. Opportunities of this scale and heritage value are seldom brought to market and are often preserved within families for generations.”

The properties are being marketed through a “semi-off-market sales process,” with limited information and marketing materials publicly available, and access to the properties is reserved for a small number of pre-qualified candidates, according to Meuwissen.

Both estates have been privately occupied by the same owner, whom Meuwissen declined to identify. Mansion Global could not confirm who the seller is.

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