South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Views of bird sanctuary add ambiance
Belle Meade Island mansion’s site appeal, value is the lot
By Robyn A. Friedman
A 5,803-square-foot home on Miami’s Belle Meade Island, with 100 linear feet of frontage on Biscayne Bay and views of Bird Key and the Miami Beach skyline, was recently listed for sale.
But despite its $7.325 million price tag, the listing agent said it’s likely to be torn down and replaced with a new home.
The one-story Art Deco home, at 7351 Belle Meade Island Drive, was built in 1950 and offers three bedrooms and two full baths.
It sits on a .38-acre site directly across from Bird Key, a small natural island in Biscayne Bay that’s home to multiple species of birds.
The home was also used as the location for a Spanish-language telenovela called “Dueños del Paraíso,” about the drug trade in Miami in the 1970s.
“The appeal and the value of this house is the lot,” said Richard Santiago, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Miami, who shares the listing with colleague Filippo Incorvaia.
“You can find a lot of houses that are waterfront, but something that looks at a natural island with a bird sanctuary and the Miami Beach skyline is pretty special. It’s the equivalent of being in Central Park overlooking the reservoir.”
The home has an open living/ dining/entertainment space, and all rooms have waterfront views. Outside, there’s a saltwater pool and a Tiki hut, along with two cabana baths.
Public records show that the property was purchased by its current owners in April 1995 for $450,000. Santiago said that the owners are downsizing and that he expects the house to be purchased by someone planning to tear it down and build a custom home of about 8,000 square feet.
“Currently I am working with a couple of interested parties that are doing preliminary studies on what they can build,” Santiago said. “I’m also working with an architect who is working on renderings for a Bahamian modern home on that lot. Some people have looked at it to restore the Art Deco home, but they find more value in building a new house.”