Wills, Partners Launch Sales for Islamorada Resort Villas

The Wills Companies and its partners are launching sales for 22 villas in its Islands of Islamorada resort in the Florida Keys.

Wills, led by brothers Tim and Trey Wills, tapped Russell Post’s Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty to lead sales for the homes, according to a press release. The villas each span 3,000 square feet with four bedrooms, and some have elevators, the release shows. Prices start at $5 million and range up to $6 million for villas with better ocean views and water access, according to Tim Wills.

The resort at 82779 Old Highway includes the 22 villas, an eight-key hotel, two pools, two pickleball courts, a fitness center, a playground, a private beach, a marina and driving range, the release shows. Wills tapped CoralTree Hospitality, a Colorado-based property management company, to handle maintenance of the property and villas. CoralTree will also manage the optional rental program for the resort.

Wills said he expects to sell the villas out in two years for an estimated $120 million.

“We’re targeting all of Florida,” he said, with a particular focus on buyers in Palm Beach, Miami, Sarasota and Naples, although some buyers will be from out of state.

“We do have a lot of interest from the typical snowbird,” said Wills, noting the resort’s proximity to the private airport in Marathon. “I think we’re gonna get a lot from New York.”

Wills, based in Washington, D.C., partnered with Urgo Hotels, Indigo Hotel Group LLC, Badlands Hotel Capital, Dolben Company, and Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty to buy the 1.7-acre oceanfront resort for $72 million in July.

The seller was Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group, which bought the property for $7 million in 2017 and completed construction of the resort in 2020. Frisbie, led by Dave Frisbie, Rick Frisbie, Robert Frisbie Sr. and Suzanne Frisbie, provided “significant” seller financing and stayed on as partners in the property, Wills confirmed.

Development is strictly regulated in the Florida Keys by Monroe County’s Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO), which helps to constrain supply for luxury properties like the Islands of Islamorada.

“Interest has been very good,” Wills said. “I’m going to buy one myself.”