Housing

This Private Island Is For Sale--For $95 Million

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 8, 2020 8:46 am

Most people who want to live in seclusion insist on a great deal of land around them or want to live on a lake or the ocean. There is a piece of real estate on the market that more than satisfies those needs. It is secluded for an almost unique reason. It is an island, just far away from the closest coast to be completely private.

10 Cannon Pt, Key Largo, FL is a 26-acre island in Card Sound Bay, which is part of the Florida Keys. The asking price for the island and a few smallish buildings is $95 million. These include a three-bedroom house, two cottages, and a dockmaster’s apartment. Fortunately, the island can be developed for as many as twelve new residences. In theory, a developer could make a profit on the purchase, after a great deal of expensive construction.

The island does have dockage at Ocean Reef, one of the most exclusive private clubs in south Florida. Ocean Reef has two 18 hole golf courses, its own airport, a tennis center, a spa, and a number of mansions.

Key Largo is a large island. It is the largest of the Florida Keys at 33 miles long. The total number of residents is just above 13,000.

The disadvantage of living in or around Key Largo is that it at the epicenter of where many hurricanes that hit Florida come ashore. And since most of the land is barely above sea level it is at particular risk for devastating floods. Five major hurricanes have torn through the area in the last several decades–Donna in 1960, Betsy in 1965, George in 1998, Wilma in 2005, and Irma in 2017.

Irma hit as a Category 4 hurricane, on September 17. Over 4,000 homes in the Keys were either destroyed or damaged.

As hurricanes become more frequent and more powerful, there is a huge risk of owning any property around Key Largo.

With a price tag of almost $100 million, does a buyer want to take that kind of risk? The property has been on the market since 2014, and that may be a partial answer.