A historic Palm Beach estate that underwent a major renovation prompted by the effects of sea-level rise has been listed for an eye-watering $175 million on the Intracoastal Waterway.
The 1½-acre estate known as Casa del Ensuenos at 800 S. County Road hit the market Dec. 16. The landmarked mansion overlooking 200 feet of waterfront was bult in 1923 and designed by Palm Beach first-generation society architect Addison Mizner.
The current price tag is more than $100 million higher than the most recent sale of the landmarked Venetian-style property. It was purchased for a recorded $24 million in 2020 by busineswoman Ann DesRuisseaux, who acted as co-trustee of the DesRuisseaux Land Trust.
The mansion dates to 1923 and is one of the rare lakefront homes designed by noted society architect Mizner. Viewed from the lake, parts of the residence appear to rise directly from the seawall.
The estate has 15 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms and five half-baths, according to the listing. In all, there are 27,111 square feet of living space, inside and out. Of that total, 21,534 square feet is air-conditioned.
The Estate Section property lies about little more than a half-mile north of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.
Margit Brandt of Premier Estate Properties holds the listing. She declined to comment.
The estate is truly “one-of-one” and “one of the most iconic renovations in Palm Beach history,” Brandt wrote in her listing.
When DesRuisseaux bought the home in 2020, she almost immediately launched an effort to save it from the encroachment of the Lake Worth Lagoon. Her first hurdle was the Town Council, which approved, then reconsidered and eventually in October of 2020 upheld its approval of her plans to raise and restore the mansion.
The saltwater from the lagoon had already taken its toll as it flooded into the first floor during each king tide or fierce storm. In a 2022 interview with The Palm Beach Post, DesRuisseaux detailed the effort put into lifting the residence, as well as the frustrations she faced in trying to accomplish her goals.
“You’d walk around this property and think this is crazy,” she told The Post at the time. “There were 16 to 20 drains around the property, and it was all a pumping system to keep the water out.”
Casa del Ensuenos is one of the two Venetian-style mansions designed by Mizner in Palm Beach. Palm Beach designated it a landmark on May 22, 1980.
The exterior features a half-round stair tower, lakefront balconies and windows topped by cast-stone details.
One ourtyard has a large round archway that frames water views and opens almost directly to the water. When it was built, the archway provided an entrance for guests who were arriving at or departing from the property by yacht.
The mansion was the second Venetian-style house Mizner built in Palm Beach, according to the late historian Donald W. Curl in his book “Mizner’s Florida.” It was “a larger version of Casa dei Leoni,” Curl wrote, referring to the house Mizner designed for a site on the west end of Worth Avenue. That residence also rises directly from the seawall on the cove by The Everglades Club.
The estate’s previous owners were longtime Palm Beachers Peter and Janet Tigges, who owned the estate since they paid $1.6 million for it in 1987, according to court records.
Even priced at $175 million, the estate is not the most expensive property listed for sale in Palm Beach. That distinction belongs to an estate a North End oceanfront estate priced a $205 million at 1491 N. Ocean Blvd., which encompasses 4.76 acres and has 230 feet of direct beachfront with an expansive dune parcel.
Next in line for the top price spot in Palm Beach is a vacant ocean-to-lake parcel of about 2 acres across town, asking $200 million at 1980 S. Ocean Blvd. That price includes concept architectural plans for a mansion and guesthouse, but those buildings have not been presented to the town’s powerful Architectural Commission for approval.
Rounding out the top four for most expensive properties on the island is a $185-million residential listig for an oceanfront compound at 911 N. Ocean Blvd. With direct beachfront, the estate encompasses about 2.5 acres and faces around 250 feet of shoreline.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com.
Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Landmarked lakefront estate lists at $175 million in Palm Beach
Reporting by Kristina Webb and Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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