A waterfront home on the Venetian Islands in Miami Beach just sold for $10 million to a South African buyer who plans to tear it down and build a new mansion.
Alain Berdouare, the brother of Chicken Kitchen founder Christian Berdouare, told The Real Deal on Tuesday that he sold the property at 28 West Dilido Drive on Di Lido Island. Property records show the 13,408-square-foot parcel has a 3,688-square-foot home built in 1933. Berdouare had paid $800,000 for the property in 1997.
At $746 per square foot for the land, the new sale price represents a record in Miami Beach, according to Dora Puig of Luxe Living Realty, who said she represented both sides of the transaction. The sale has not yet cleared records.
Berdouare said he had planned to build a new home on the property for himself, but when the buyer came along in the off-market deal, he decided to sell. Neither he nor Puig could name the buyer, citing a confidentiality agreement, but sources said he is from South Africa.
“The exposure and the location are fantastic. That is why the buyer chose this one,” Berdouare said. “He is very rich and paid the premium.”
Puig said he buyer wanted a property with year-round sunset views, and plans to live in Miami Beach full-time. “He could have chosen any city to move into because he is an international businessman, and he chose Miami,” she said. “This goes to show that the prime properties that have straight downtown views and water frontage will sell at a premium.”
Venetian Islands properties have been scoring high-priced sales in recent months. In February, venture capitalist Jim Goetz bought an 11,600-square-foot Di Lido Island mansion that sold for a record $22 million. In January, a French buyer paid $13.2 million for a newly built 7,076-square-foot home on San Marino Island. And in October, a finance executive paid $6 million for a waterfront San Marino teardown on a 9,953-square-foot lot, paying $610 per square foot for the land.