As they say, when one door closes, another one opens.
That is the case for anyone on the market for a private island in Florida this summer. Just a few weeks after the $218 million listing for Tarpon Island in Palm Beach was removed, another (much more affordable) private island is on the market asking just $16.5 million, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Listing agent Wesley Williford of Frank Taylor Real Estate and his family have owned the 1.4-acre private island at 99 Ocean East in Marathon, Florida since 1995, according to the outlet. They bought it for $750,000 from its longtime owner, New Jersey gastroenterologist Klaus Meckeler.
Known as East Sister Rock Island, it sits a quarter-mile off the shore of Tingler Island. Williford’s family outfitted the island with a solar panel array, a wind turbine with battery storage, air-conditioning and a desalination plant. The listing describes the island as “self-sustaining.” The property includes a three-bedroom, two-bathroom main house, and a guest cottage that can sleep three people, according to the listing.
The Willifords have operated it as a vacation rental since 2010, according to Wesley Williford’s LinkedIn profile. The going rate for the main house starts at $12,500 per week, with higher holiday rates that peak at $17,500 for the week of New Year’s, East Sister Rock’s website shows.
The private island market is one of real estate’s more fantastical niches, and listings are rare. Earlier this summer, spec developer Todd Glaser and his partners delisted Tarpon Island, which they put on the market after completing an extensive renovation in November. He has said the home is intended for tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, or Bill Gates.
In May, a Bahamian private island listed for $100 million. It has been featured in the James Bond and Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchises.
Dr. Meckeler bought the island in the 1970s when it was essentially a pile of rocks protruding from Florida’s tropical waters. His son, Kai Meckeler, said to the publication, “My dad was a romantic.”
“Everybody thinks they want to own an island,” Meckeler told the outlet. “It’s just not for everybody.”
— Kate Hinsche