Beach view of three-acre parcel.

I got pangs of nostalgia when I saw this property down on Casey Key—almost three acres of lawn, right on the beach and the bay, with several old Sears Roebucks cottages (one of which is still rented out—the owner is asking $5,000 a month). This is the way Casey Key used to be. Even when I moved here 30 years ago, its Old Florida flavor was highly evident.

Two docks on the Intercoastal.

Then I got pangs of sadness for the passage of time. It will be bought by some multi-millionaire, the cottages will vanish, and a mansion or two will appear. Maybe more, as the property can be divided into three different parcels.

Then I got pangs of remorse that I hadn’t snapped it up back then, when a property like this would go for several hundred thousand. Now it’s priced at $5,995,000.

That’s a lot of pangs. But you can see the whole history of Gulf Coast Florida real estate in these three acres. It started out as a modest beach vacation lifestyle. And now it’s the second—or third, or fourth--home of some of the world’s richest people.

Dune walk-over down to the beach.

This property may well be the last one that has it all. Size, both beach and bayfront (and both are particularly nice. The is 240-foot-wide beach is relatively wide and always deserted, and the bayfront side looks out onto some picturesque mangrove islands, with no mansions to spoil the view). There are two dune walk-overs already in place, along with a pair of bay front docks. And you can build on the beachfront side of the road, something that can be hard to find on Casey Key.

Three old cottages included.

I hear that the county is interested in moving the cottages to a park on the mainland, where they could serve some adaptive re-use. Of course, the new owners may want to keep them right where they are. But it would take a very eccentric millionaire not to turn this last-chance opportunity into the ultimate Casey Key estate. For more info call Lynn Robbins at (941) 366-8070.