Key Real Estate

The 17 real-estate sales recordings on the keys the last week in October were the most since the same number of transactions registered in the first week of June. It is double the number of recordings last week.

Leading the way was the $3.25 million that area investors Lynn and Richard Hackel, of 1400 John Ringling Parkway and Dyer, Ind., paid to Claire and Ralph McLaughlin, trustees of the McLaughlin Family Trust, of San Bruno, Calif., for their Sarasota bayfront home at 1418 Ringling Parkway in Lido Shores (Lido C division of John Ringling Estates).

Built in 2004, the Lido Shores home contains 5,313 square feet of living area with five bedrooms, five baths, two half-baths and a swimming pool.

Lido yacht basin, Embassy House
The Lido Shores sale was but one of three on the same day, Oct. 16, involving the same parties. The Hackels sold the vacant Sarasota bayfront yacht basin site in Block 64 of Lido Beach at 426 Cleveland Drive to the McLaughlins for $900,000.

And, finally, in downtown Sarasota, the Hackels sold Penthouse 3 at The Embassy House to the McLaughlins for $700,000. In all, the three sales generated a total $4.85 million. The Hackels paid the McLaughlins $3.25 million for the Lido Shores home while the McLaughlins paid $1.6 million to the Hackels for the Lido Beach yacht basin property and The Embassy penthouse.

Queens Harbour
The second multi-million-dollar transaction of the week was another case in which the same buyers and sellers were involved in more than one sale. Edward Burke, of Aurora, Ill., sold his Queens Harbour home at 3616 Fair Oaks Place to Lynn and Stephen Kukanza, of Cincinnati, for $2,275,000.

Constructed in 1998, the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath home has 4,621 square feet of living space and a swimming pool. Burke paid $1,144,100 for the property new in July 1998.

Sea Twig
Burke then bought Unit 201 at the six-unit Sea Twig, 5845 Gulf of Mexico Drive, from the Kukanzas for $635,000. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo was built in 1985 and has 1,395 square feet of living area.

Grand Bay I
Norman and Sandra Bettis, of Bloomington, Ill., sold their Unit 134 in Building I at Grand Bay to Jonathan Goldberg and Regina Skyer, as joint tenants from New York City, for $950,000. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath condominium at 3060 Grand Bay Blvd. has 2,369 square feet of living area and was constructed in 1994 as Arvida Corp.’s last planned development on Longboat Key.

Emerald Harbor
Julia and Kevin Greene, from Cincinnati, purchased the Emerald Harbor home at 5920 Emerald Harbor Drive from Teresa and John Howe, of Telluride, Colo., for $710,000.

The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath waterfront home has 2,265 square feet of living area and was originally built in 1972, then later renovated and updated in 1978. The Howes bought the home for $330,000 in January 1998.

Country Club Shores, Unit IV
Jamie and Deborah Gage, of Bradenton, sold their canal-front home at 560 Putting Green Lane in Country Club Shores Unit IV for $665,000 to Dolores and Thomas Diener.

The two-bedroom, two-bath home with a swimming pool was built in 1965 and has 1,616 square feet of living area. The Gages acquired the home for $647,000 in September 2002 during the recent realty boom.

Sea Gate Club
Jeanne Harrington bought Unit 2-A at the towering 15-story, 90-unit Sea Gate Club, 2425 Gulf of Mexico, from Sheila and David Dubin, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., for $650,300. The two-bedroom, two-bath condominium was constructed in 1973 with 1,513 square feet of living area.

Seaplace II
There were four sales in all phases of Longboat Key’s largest condominium complex, the 461-unit, Arvida-built Seaplace. In the most expensive transaction, Timothy DuPrey, of North Conway, N.H., sold Unit M1-208-J at Seaplace II to Natalie DuPrey, 2045 Gulf of Mexico Drive, for $569,000. The three-bedroom, two-bath apartment was built in 1973 and has 1,513 square feet of living space.

In the other Seaplace II conveyance, Lauren Ash, of Lakewood Ranch, bought Unit M1-615-G from Eileen and Frederick Helfer, of Clearwater, for $400,000. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo has 1,076 square feet of living area.

Seaplace IV, III
At Seaplace IV, Frank Paul and Robert Paul, of Sarasota, as co-trustees to the Trudy Paul personal residence trust, sold Unit G6-301-B to James Klemens, of Louisville, Ky., for $450,000. The three-bedroom, two-bath condo at 1955 Gulf of Mexico Drive was constructed in 1978 and has 1,492 square feet of living area.

Sarienda Inc., of Barrie, Ontario, purchased Unit G4-202-A in Seaplace III, 1975 Gulf of Mexico Drive, from Nancy and Gregory Theobald, along with parking space P-303, for $345,000. The two-bedroom, two-bath apartment was built in 1977 and has 1,257 square feet of living area. The Theobalds bought the condo for $530,000 in March 2005.

Longboat Beachcomber
Ray and Margo Miller, both of Sarasota, sold their Unit 408 at the 40-unit Longboat Beachcomber, 2721 Gulf of Mexico Drive, to Stephen and Linda Smith, from Huntington Valley, Pa., for $475,000. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo was built in 1970 with 884 square feet of air-conditioned living area. The Millers bought the condominium for $815,000 in May 2005.

Longboat Beach House
Frances and Michael Berman, from Roslyn Heights, N.Y., purchased Unit 503 at the Longboat Beach House, 4311 Gulf of Mexico Drive, from Rosalie and Edwin Wheeler, 242 Robin Drive, Bird Key, for $460,000. The two-bedroom, one-bath apartment was built in 1977 and has 1,140 square feet of living space.

Fairway Bay I
Laura and Richard Tait, of Tadworth, England, sold their Unit 141 in Building I at the 288-unit Fairway Bay complex, 1930 Harbourside Drive, to Deborah and James McKinlay for $432,500. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo with 1,442 square feet of living space was built in 1982 by Arvida Corp. The Taits bought the apartment for $505,000 in April 2004.

Whitney Beach
Rebecca and John DeVito, from Dedham, Mass., bought Unit 189 at Whitney Beach condominiums from Harris N.A., (Harris Trust & Savings Bank) successor trustee of the John Kemper Insurance Trust, of Chicago, for $210,000.

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.