Sabal Cove home sells for $2 million

In March 2005, as the recent real-estate bubble was about to burst, a Bloomington, Ill., real-estate firm known as DKS Properties Inc., led by its president, David Stark, purchased a 5,238-square-foot residence in the exclusive Sabal Cove subdivision, within the heart of the Bay Isles peninsula, for $2,125,000.

The price was the highest ever paid for one of the lakefront properties in the 38-home Sabal Cove development located at 3334 Sabal Cove Lane.

The three-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath home with a swimming pool was constructed in 1994.

The sellers of the property in 2005 were Helene Roberson and Steven Hippe, of Daytona Beach. They, in turn, had acquired this Sabal Cove mansion for $1.57 million from Robert Hoffman and his wife, Judith, at the outset of the real-estate boom in January 2001.

Now, four years after the realty collapse, this premier Sabal Cove home has been sold for $2 million by DKS Properties to Susan and Arthur Warshaw.

As a footnote to the chain of ownership of the Sabal Cove home, the 2001 owner, Robert Hoffman, was a commodities trader at Chicago’s Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange before moving to Sarasota in the early 1970s. Hoffman soon gained a local reputation as the builder of some of the area’s highest condominium towers. He partnered with Jack Shire to construct Longboat Key’s two tallest condos — the 15-story Sea Gate Club and Islands West — and the 12-story Islander Club, as well as the 13- and 12-story St. Armands Towers, north and south, on Lido Beach. Just two months ago, Hoffman died at the age of 82.

Second Sabal Cove sale
The second-largest sale for the recording week of Oct. 5 through Oct. 9 also took place in Sabal Cove at 3347 Sabal Cove Drive, in which a North Stonington, Conn., limited-liability company, ASEPSIS, bought the home from William Ross, of University Park, and Nancy Gray and Steven Kropper, co-trustees of the Nancy Gray Family Trust, of Newark, Del., for $755,000.

The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home with a swimming pool was constructed in 1996 with 4,072 square feet of living area. The Gray family trust bought the property for $540,000 in October 2006.

Sleepy Lagoon
In an intra-family transaction, Terri Fishman bought a $598,500 interest in the Gulf-front home at 6517 Gulfside Drive from her husband, Mark Fishman, of Novelty, Ohio. Fishman was acting as trustee of her trust. The property includes a deep lot of more than a half-acre, with slightly more than 100 feet of beach on the Gulf. The three-bedroom, two-bath home was built in 1979 with a swimming pool and 1,816 square feet of living area. The couple bought the property for $1,995,000 in July.

Fairway Bay II
Kathleen and Andrew Ferraro, of Brielle, N.J., sold their Unit 352 in Building M–3 at Fairway Bay II to Herbert Roland Jones, 2016 Harbourside Drive, for $390,000. The Ferraros bought the apartment for $540,000 in October 2006. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo has 1,192 square feet of living space. Fairway Bay was constructed on Sarasota Bay by Arvida Corp. in the mid-1980s and has 288 dwelling units in all its phases.

Seaplace VI
Sandra Swindal, through her revocable trust, purchased Unit G-8 302-A at Seaplace VI from Stephen Sundheimer, of Sarasota, for $350,000. The two-bedroom, two-bath condominium at 1925 Gulf of Mexico Drive was constructed in 1978 and has 1,257 square feet of living area.

Developed in the 1970s by Arvida Corp., Seaplace is Longboat Key’s largest condominium complex with 461 apartments.

Longboat Harbour
There was one transaction at Longboat Key’s first major high-rise condominium, the 300-unit Longboat Harbour, developed by the late I.Z. Mann in the second half of the 1960s.

Henry Airth Jr. and his wife, Rose Owens, of Tidy Island, sold their Unit 301 in Building B at Longboat Harbour to Marcelyn and Harold Henrikson, from South Elgin, Ill., for $275,000.

The two-bedroom, two-bath condo at 4320 Falmouth Drive was built in 1969 with 1,092 square feet of living area. The Airths paid $91,000 for the apartment in August 1987.

Bird Key
There were two sales in Bird Key, both on Owl Way right across the street from each another. Robin and Emilio Palermo, of Locust Grove, Va., paid $587,500 to Samantha and Joseph Di Santi, of Longboat Key, for the home at 619 Owl Way. The three-bedroom, two-bath residence has 1,732 square feet of living area and a swimming pool and was built in 1966. The Di Santis bought the property for $690,000 in October 2007.

In the second transaction at 618 Owl Way, Charles Siegel sold his home to Helen Seiple and Joann Abbott for $500,000. Built in 1977, the three-bedroom, three-bath home has 2,434 square feet of living space and a swimming
pool.

Kent Chetlain is a veteran Florida journalist and historian, a former Manatee County commissioner and a holder of a Florida real-estate license. He has chronicled real-estate activity in this area since 1957.

To view a list of the largest building permits issued by the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Department for the week of Oct. 9 through Oct. 15, please click here.