A compound in Naples, Florida has hit the market for a whopping $295 million, reportedly the most expensive house on the market in America.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the 9-acre gated compound in the Port Royal neighborhood with three houses and a private yacht-basin would shatter home sale records for the state if the owners get the asking price.
Though Naples Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported there are other pricy plots for sale in the area that could match it once the ink is dry.
The property known as Gordon Pointe has been growing under the ownership of the John “Jack” F. Donahue, a well-known Naples philanthropist, and his family since the 1980s. It is listed by the Coldwell Banker Realty’s Dawn McKenna Group, in partnership with The Leighton Candler Team of Corcoran and Rory McMullen of Savills.
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Gordon Pointe: 9 acres, 3 houses, 1 yacht basin
Known as Gordon Pointe, the gated compound stretches a little over 9 acres. It includes about 708 feet of beachfront and Gulf of Mexico views, 952 feet of bay views, an “exclusive and extremely rare” yacht basin, measuring 231 feet, and a T-shaped dock for up to six boats.
There is not just one, but three houses on the property, built over time. There is also the potential to redevelop the site, with a larger family compound, or with a “subdivided community for a lucky few,” with at least six houses, according to the selling agents.
Home of Donahue’s more than 80 grandchildren
The property is owned by the Donahue family. A well-known Naples philanthropist, John “Jack” F. Donahue made his fortune running Pittsburgh-based Federated Investors, which he co-founded in 1955. He died in 2017, and his wife Rhodora died about five years later, in 2022. High school sweethearts, they started amassing the land in the 1980s, which is now in the hands of their many heirs. They had 13 children, and more than 80 grandchildren.
In 2017, the Donahue family made headlines when they began exploring the sale of 70 acres of beachfront property on Gordon Pointe and nearby Keewaydin Island, sending out a 62-page confidential offering memo to prospects worldwide. The offering was unpriced, and it included only a portion of what the family owned on Gordon Pointe, with Jack and Rhodora still alive and wanting to keep and enjoy two of their residences at the time.
Robert McEwan, one of two CBRE agents marketing that property, said parts of the listing sold for more than $45 million in 2019. Several lots that didn’t go the last time around are part of the new offering, he said.
Asked how long he thought it might take to sell the new listing, based on his own experience, McEwan said: “You never know with uber luxury things. A guy can see an article on it and come down and buy it right away.”
He commented that he wouldn’t be surprised if the eventual sale shatters records in Naples, and elsewhere in the country.
Most expensive listing in lux corner of Naples
Port Royal has long been known as a playground for the rich.
Nearly a year ago, a waterfront estate in the neighborhood came to market for more than $174 million. A price that was unheard of then. It’s still for sale.
The beachfront property, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, is expansive, stretching more than 8.5 acres, making it a rarity, too.
More of a rarity: Neighboring property is up for sale on both sides, with the potential to carve out an even larger one-of-kind estate on Naples’ highly coveted Gordon Drive. Combined, they would cost $295 million, for more than 15 acres, with 812 linear feet of beach frontage.
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The most expensive home sold in the area last year fetched $46.8 million – also in Port Royal. The county record home sale price is $62 million, set in 2022.
On Florida’s other coast, a home sold for $173 million in 2022, which Palm Beach Daily News reported is a record high for the state. It was reportedly bought by software billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp.
A couple of other heavy hitter sales tailed behind it, like the $155 million sale for Rush Limbaugh’s compound, and the off-market deal for another Palm Beach County that came in at $170 million around the same time.
Contributing: Kimberly Miller and Darrell Hofheinz, USA TODAY Network
