RETURN OF THE SPEC MANSION
Once upon a time, risk-taking builders constructed mansions on the water — on speculation. In 2003, one sold on Westway Drive in Lido Shores for $9 million.
Three years later, the market cooled, then collapsed. Building homes on spec ceased.
In 2015, the market has improved to the point that the spec mansion is making a fresh appearance on the local real estate scene.
Perrone Construction is building a 10,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, six-bath estate on Sarasota Bay called Aqua Vita. The design is by noted Sarasota mansion and mansionette designer Clifford Scholz. The house will sit on one acre and should be complete in 2016.
Lynne Koy of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s Longboat Key office has been tasked with selling it.
The list price is $8.4 million.
The master suite is the size of an apartment, with a private balcony and vestibule, morning bar and exercise room.
Guests will have their own private quarters. The house will have an elevator, two terraces and a circular great room, 24 feet in diameter, that will have sweeping views of the bay and the John Ringling Bridge.
Outdoors, there’s a pool and spa, pavilion with fire pit, outdoor living room and kitchen, lush landscaping and water frontage on two sides with beach access to Longboat Key.
AAUW HOME TOUR
Calendar alert: The annual AAUW Home Tour is Feb. 13 in Venice. Tickets are $20. Online: www.venice-fl.aauw.net.
