Novem

ber/Decem

ber 2009 Volume 4/Issue 5 oceanhom

emag.com

ocean

ho

me th

e luxury coastal lifestyle magazin

e

OceanHomethe luxury coastal lifestyle magazine

November/December 2009

natural selection: Why You Should Buy on Sanibel Island california royale: Inside the Next Hearst Castle

high def (jam): Chilling in the Hamptons with Russell Simmons

The Luxe Caribbean Getaway Ups the Ante For Sunbaked Celebrities, Rockstars... And Yes, Even You Page 64

The New St.Barts

oceanhomemag.com | $5.99

Back in Black

the Water Villa at Villingili resort and spa in the maldives.

builder frank mckinney’s latest

south florida masterpiece

Businessbernie madoff,

jason stratham, and lou reed’s

real estate deals

Home the top party

planners for your next soirée

Travel escape eVerything

and eVeryone in the maldiVes

natural selection

Easing into the slow pace

and unspoiled setting of

Southwest Florida’s Sanibel–

Captiva Island destination.

By Scott Kauffman

57

take it easy Let your blood pres-sure drop a few points at the South Seas Island Resort on 330 acres of what was formerly a key lime plantation. Clockwise, from above: views of the Gulf of Mexico; the resort’s nine-hole golf course; a selection of spacious pools and beaches; and top-notch accomodations.

november + december 2009 oceanhomemag.com 59

Take a trip to this barrier island on the serene southwest coast of Florida and it seems to be a place where time has stood still.

Ubiquitous fast-food chain restaurants are nowhere to be found. There are no buildings higher than three stories tall, and brightly lit billboards and obtrusive retail signs are practically nonexistent. Nor will you find any traffic lights.

Bikes are the preferred mode of transpor-tation on Sanibel Island, as well as the tiny contiguous isle of Captiva, and the speed limit is merely the pace of one’s pedals. And all of this makes perfect sense, considering Sanibel-Captiva is arguably the most pris-tine and peaceful coastal destination in Flor-ida. In fact, almost half of Sanibel’s 11,500 acres are part of the federally protected J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, while nearly 70 percent of the island, which measures 12 miles long by five miles wide, is protected through local or federal govern-ment agencies and private foundations.

Simply put, Sanibel—known for being the “Seashell Capital of Florida”—is a rare stronghold for smart-growth sentiment. And that’s precisely how many of the island’s 6,000-plus full-time residents prefer their tropical paradise to be preserved; it’s a place where the environment harmoniously coex-ists with development, commerce, transpor-tation, or any other man-made influence.

In some respects, Sanibel-Captiva is the epitome of eco-tourism or sustainable de-velopment, yet it’s been this way long before

these catchy concepts became popularized around the planet. Indeed, in many ways, modern-day Sanibel is the same place it was when native Calusa Indians inhabited the Siamese twin sanctuaries around 2,500 years ago, as well as when famed explorer Juan Ponce de Leon was credited with dis-covering Sanibel in 1513 en route to finding Florida’s “Fountain of Youth.”

At a time when Florida’s massive coast-line continues to be consumed by countless condos, Sanibel-Captiva is almost too good to be true—a peaceful haven from the hectic pace of progress that pervades booming coastal cities like neighboring Fort Myers. Last year, a new causeway bridge connected Fort Myers to Sanibel, making the hidden is-land gem even more accessible. Despite this newfound access, however, the end result hasn’t changed one bit.

“When you’re going through the toll booth and start driving over the span, all of a sudden, your pressures just go away,” says Jim Nelson, whose family started vacation-ing on Sanibel 20 years ago and now lives in a 2,300-square-foot beachfront condo-minium with gorgeous Gulf of Mexico views. “It’s just so laid-back [on the island] and pretty. Our condo is on the third floor, which is as high as you can get, and when you look out from the lanai, which wraps all around the front and part of the side, the views are just spectacular.”

Bill Coats, whose family owns a luxurious 21,000-square-foot contemporary home list-ed for sale at $18 million on Captiva’s “Gold Coast,” has been happily living on the island for 14 years after retiring from Michigan. He echoes Nelson’s feelings about their special oceanfront lifestyle, saying the “peaceful, laid-back nature and privacy” are what stand out about Sanibel-Captiva.

If there’s one change he would make, though, it would be the six-dollar toll he has to pay to get across the new bridge.

“I’ve always said Blue Cross Blue Shield should have to pay for your toll because the moment you cross that bridge, your blood pressure automatically drops about 10 points,” Coats says with a smile.

All kidding aside, this rich appreciation

tBikes are the preferred mode of transporta-tion on Sanibel, as well as the tiny contiguous isle of Captiva, and the speed limit is merely the pace of one’s pedals. And all of this makes perfect sense, consid-ering Sanibel-Captiva is ar-guably the most pristine and peaceful coast-al destination in Florida.Th

is p

ag a

nd 0

ppos

ite p

age,

pho

togr

aphs

supp

lied

by M

ike

McM

urra

y &

Trev

or N

ette

. G

olf c

ours

e ph

oto,

by

Que

ntin

Lut

z.

60 oceanhomemag.com november + december 2009

for Sanibel’s “old Florida charm” is nothing new. As far back as the turn of the century, numerous high-profile people became regu-lars on Sanibel-Captiva, including inventor Clarence Chadwick, who made a fortune by developing the first forgery-proof paper for checks. Subsequently, Chadwick made a name for himself after converting most of Captiva into a key lime plantation that now serves as the home of the acclaimed 330-acre South Seas Island Resort.

Others drawn to the islands’ tranquility were wealthy northern industrialists, such as Fort Myers neighbors Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, who would sail down from his winter estate to study native plants and stroll the beaches. Gradually, other famous visitors began to frequent the islands, including Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who sought refuge when public opinion turned against the “Lone Eagle” for his isolationist views in World War II.

Perhaps the islands’ most influential visitor was Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, who first discovered Sanibel on a trip in 1935. “Ding,” a noted conservationist, wintered on Captiva for many years and actively cam-paigned for federal protection of the island’s fragile ecosystem.

In 1945, approximately 6,400 acres of mangrove, bay, and estuary became the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, and today are home to more than 300 spe-cies of birds, 50 species of reptiles and am-phibians, and more than 30 types of mam-mals. Over 800,000 people annually take the wondrous “Wildlife Drive” through Ding Darling, making it one of the top five most visited refuges in the United States.

One of the prouder stewards of Sanibel is Sanctuary Golf Club (sanctuarygc.net), an exclusive private club that features an Arthur Hills-designed 18-hole masterpiece on the island’s northeastern tip. Located on the is-land’s prime Wulfert Point peninsula that juts out into Pine Island Sound, the low-density, 465-acre luxury golf course development is America’s only private golf course situated in the heart of a national wildlife preserve.

Actually, as part of the Sanctuary’s pains-taking three-year, $3.5 million permitting process in the early 1990s, developer John Naumann deeded 220 acres that surrounded the course to the US Fish and Wildlife As-sociation, preserving it as part of the “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

Limited to only 272 residences, the Sanc-tuary Club’s unofficial slogan, “Paradise Pre-served,” is no hokey tagline. Surrounded on three sides by the “Ding” Darling Refuge, the Sanctuary is all that and more as the course meanders through 6,657 yards of nature pre-serves and lakes, providing panoramic views of the Pine Island Sound and majestic man-grove forests. Hills, who is one of the leading golf course architects in the world, calls the Sanctuary “an island masterpiece, a property that is truly elegant, exquisite, and rare.”

Arguably the most picturesque spot on the course is the signature 187-yard, par three fourth hole, which offers unmatched vistas of the bay and marvelous opportuni-ties for wildlife viewing. The special stretch of six custom homes laid out on the hole is believed to be the only golf and waterfront property on Florida’s entire west coast.

“As golf courses go, I still think the Sanctuary is the best example—if you have to build a golf course,” says Erick Lindblad, executive director of the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.

Recognized by Audubon International as a certified cooperative sanctuary for its environmental conservation efforts, the Sanctuary Club is one of three courses on the island, but the only private club (equity memberships start at $175,000). And it is certainly the only one that features Florida bobcats, alligators, dozens of bird species, otters, the rare North American crocodile, and protected gopher tortoise habitats, plus hundreds of native plant and tree species that thrive in the area.

“People ask me if I go to John “Ding” Dar-ling and I say no, our club is just an exten-sion of it,” says Sanctuary Board President Gerry Risch. “The animals come to us!”

The $32 million golf course even has a 22-acre bald eagle buffer zone—deeded to Lindblad’s non-profit foundation—that is

Sanibel- captivastay Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa is positioned perfectly at the base of the San Car-los Bay to experience all that Sanibel and Fort Myers have to offer. 239-466-4000, sanibel-resort.com. South Seas Island Resort is Captiva’s classic plan-tation-style destination resort. 866-565-5089, southseas.com. Pay a visit to ‘Tween Waters Inn Island Resort if you want a low-key experience. 888-820-1087, tween-waters.com. eat At Lazy Flamingo, if the “seafood were any fresher, it would be served underwater.” 239-472-6939, www.lazyfla mingo.com. Doc Ford’s Sanibel Rum Bar & Grille is a tropical outdoor and indoor dining in-stitution in Fort Myers/Sanibel. 239-472-8311, docfordssanibel.com. Stop by the Island Cow for a taste of some “udderly good food.” 239-472-0606. shop All the non-motorized modes of transportation are available at Billy’s Rentals. 239-472-5248, billysrentals.com. Turtles is an upscale trendy women’s boutique at Tahitian Gardens. 239-472-1115, shopon sanibel.com. Of course, a trip to Sanibel wouldn’t be complete without visiting one of the eight shops devoted to seashells and shell art, like Sanibel Sea-shell Industries’ two locations. 239-472-1603, seashells.com.

This page, Sanibel Golf C

lub. Opposite page, photographs supplied by M

ike McM

urray & Trevor Nette.

simply Captivating This 21,000-square- foot Captiva estate

built in 2002 can be yours for $18 million. Located on a private

setting with beach and ocean views, it features seven bedrooms, eight

bathrooms, a multi-level terraced pool, spa,

waterfall, and enter- tainment rooms, in-

cluding a private theat- er and game room.

your very own sanctuary: Built in 1998, this 15,000-square-foot Sanibel estate at the Sanc-tuary Club sells for $17,500,000. The home features five bedrooms, tropical grounds with exotic vegetation, a ten-nis court, a large wine cellar, a separate guest suite, four-car garage, and 300 feet of beach and ocean frontage.

november + december 2009 oceanhomemag.com 63

surrounded by the 10th green, 11th tee, 12th green, 15th green, and 16th tee. As Naumann puts it, “Those eagles are sitting on about $9 million worth of land.” The Sanctuary’s wondrous course is the centerpiece of the community, which also includes tennis courts, a first-class fitness center, and a casu-ally elegant clubhouse that recently received a $4.5 million facelift.

As much as Risch enjoys his club’s many marvelous natural and man-made ameni-ties, what he and so many other members really relish are the people. Like the rest of Sanibel, the Sanctuary’s membership is mostly a laid-back, unpretentious bunch of island-goers, despite the fact that many of the Sanctuary members have made for-tunes as successful entrepreneurs or top executives at companies such as IBM, Kraft Foods, General Mills, and Xerox.

“No one is trying to impress anyone, and that’s pretty unique,” says Risch, who’s now on his second home at the Sanctuary after moving there in 1995 from Chicago. “It’s like one big family. Sure, there are other places and clubs that are special, but in my experience at other clubs, people are always jockeying for position. At the Sanctuary, it’s not about glitz. It’s really special.

“A lot of us have really become best of friends at the Sanctuary. What we all have in common is a real love of the island and a rich appreciation of nature. At the end of the day, it’s all about family values and Mother Nature.”

In essence, the Sanctuary Club epitomiz-es the lifestyle of Sanibel with luxurious yet understated homes of all sizes and styles. According to some recent real estate data, the average price of a home on Sanibel Island was $1.2 million, almost double the value of a home in 2002. The median price was $920,000.

The average price of a condominium was $683,000, with the median price being $617,000. On adjacent Captiva Island, home values were much higher, with the average price being $2.275 million for single-family homes and $1.3 million for condominiums.

When it comes to residential real estate, though, perhaps the most appreciated part

about Sanibel-Captiva is the dearth of it. Mike McMurray of McMurray and Nette

VIP Realty Group (239-472-5187, mikem-cmurray.com) has been specializing in luxury real estate and lifestyle properties in Southwest Florida for many years and says Sanibel-Captiva was indeed affected by the country’s deep recession.

“The real estate market, like any, has been affected by the down economy, some seg-ments of the markets more than others,” Mc-Murray says. “However, unlike most markets, the island market did not experience the runup in prices as most vacation or resort markets around the country did for reasons known within the time period of 2004-2007. “For this reason, the island market will flour-ish much sooner than most.”

McMurray notes Sanibel-Captiva’s “runup” was somewhat kept in check due to several factors: the devastating damage left by Hurricane Charlie in 2004, a severe outbreak of red algae that swept the beaches after a string of bad storms in 2004 and 2005, and the reconstruction of the new causeway bridge.

“The time to buy has never been better,” adds McMurray, who is representing the sale of the Coats home, as well as a $17.5 mil-lion, 15,000-square-foot estate that features 300 feet of ocean frontage on Sanibel. “The true island lovers understand this and have already begun to pick and choose their slice of paradise before the herd realizes the op-portunity that exists at this time.”

Sanibel and Captiva are known for their laid-back atmosphere and non-flashy envi-ronment. “It also has a very conservative and very friendly feel with people that enjoy and appreciate that from all walks of life and dif-ferent levels of wealth,” says McMurray.

Coats is banking on his piece of the Gold Coast, even though Sanibel-Captiva’s high-end luxury real estate market is experiencing a little letdown at the time.

“I still think these are the areas that are going to hold their value,” Coats says, refer-ring to one-of-a-kind ocean homes. “I think Will Rogers said it, ‘Buy oceanfront, God isn’t making it anymore.’” Definitely not like the kind at Sanibel-Captiva.

In 1945, ap-proximately 6,400 acres of mangrove, bay, and estuary became the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wild-life Refuge, and today are home to more than 300 species of birds, 50 spe-cies of reptiles and amphib-ians, and more than 30 types of mammals.

Opp

osite

pag

e, p

hoto

grap

hs b

y La

uren

ce T

aylo

r. T

his

page

, San

ibel

-Cap

tiva

Cha

mbe

r of C

omm

erce

.