Deal-seeking billionaires hoping to buy a private island at a bargain, this one’s for you.
Palm Beach’s Tarpon Island, the only man-made individual island in the county, is the nation’s most expensive property currently listed Zillow and Realtor.com, with a price tag of $210 million.
However, there’s a way for the frugal moneybags to snag a deal on the tony Florida estate.
If the buyer pays the full $210 million, the 1930s British Colonial-style house will be renovated by the current owner, expanding it so it includes more interior space.
But the developer is giving prospective buyers another choice: To buy the land “as is,” with no renovations or additions done to the main house for just $125 million, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Choosing the more expensive option would involve partly demolishing the main home, renovating the currently 12,300-square-foot home and building an 18,000-square-foot structure next to it.
Located west of Palm Beach at Intracoastal Waterway, the island was built more than 80 years ago by dredging crews. The rectangular property is surrounded by 1,300 feet of waterfront and is situated on 2.23 acres of land.
The gated island can only be accessed by boat or by a bridge connected to Everglades Island, which boasts about 55 homes.
Made up of 11 bedrooms and 21 bathrooms, the home was sold last summer for the first time since 1998, when developer Todd Michael Glaser purchased the land for a record $85 million.
If potential buyers opt for the renovation, the new residence would hold six bedrooms, two swimming pools and a six-car garage.
Tarpon Island is also one of the few properties in Palm Beach that features a lighted tennis court. The Palm Beach Post notes that the town usually “frowns at nighttime illumination.”
Earlier this year, another Palm Beach estate — once owned by Donald Trump — fetched the highest price of any property ever sold in Florida, purchased by a mysterious Russian for $140 million in an all-cash deal.
Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates, Inc. holds the Tarpon Island listing.
