The waterfront Florida estate of the late philanthropist Bunny Bastian has sold for $36 million as a teardown.
The almost 2-acre property hit the market in November for $45 million and is set in the Gables Estates gated community in Coral Gables, a prestigious enclave with its own security patrols—both on and off the water.
The buyer is “going to build his ultimate dream home,” said listing agent Liz Hogan of Compass. “He really fell in love with the bay views.”
Listing records show the property sold last week, though the sale has yet to reach public records, and as such, buyer information is not yet available. Hogan declined to identify the buyer.
The existing seven-bedroom home, built in 1963, spans 11,478 square feet and has expansive and unobstructed views out to Key Biscayne, Stiltsville and the ocean.
It also has plenty of water frontage. While the home’s grassy lawn leads down to a sandy shore and 200 feet of Biscayne Bay, there’s also another 200-foot strip of frontage on a private and protected waterway opposite the home’s driveway entrance—a rare feature that allows for unobstructed views out front and is enjoyed by only a handful homes in the neighborhood.
The property has water frontage on two sides.
1Oak Studios
The task of replacing the property is likely to be a long one, according to Hogan.
“To tear down [the existing home] is probably about a three-month process,” Hogan said. “But really from start until finish in that neighborhood, [it’s] about three years before you can put your head on the pillow.”
The problem is that “this town is booming so much, it’s very, very hard to get labor right now, and that’s the biggest hindrance—and that’s across the board,” she said. “If the [new] home was already built on this, I could have sold it 15 times over in a couple of months.”
Bastian, who died last year at the age of 95, had a lengthy philanthropic track record that included serving on the board of directors of the American Red Cross Greater Miami, the Keys Chapter and the Gables Estates Club.
She was also a member of the Brickell Avenue Literary Society and the University of Miami Dade County Women’s Guild.
Her trust sold the home.
