In the Venetian Islands, the house is elevated 16.5 feet above sea level
A Miami Beach spec house designed to withstand rising sea levels is listing for $25 million.
The waterfront Venetian Islands house was developed by Empresas FPY, a Chilean construction and real-estate group. Empresas purchased the previous home on the lot for $4.575 million in February 2017, demolished it and began construction on the new mansion in 2019, said Empresas founder Francisco Perez Yoma. It was completed this month, he said.
Ten-foot columns raise the roughly 5,500-square-foot home to 16.5 feet above sea level, said listing agent Danny Hertzberg of Coldwell Banker Realty. Unlike traditional beach houses on stilts, the property has a shaded entertainment space under the house to maximize the lot’s outdoor amenities, which include an outdoor kitchen, dining and living rooms. The roughly quarter-acre grounds also include an oversize lap pool, two architectural staircases and a small pond with a tree in the center, said Mr. Hertzberg.
The design, which wasn’t mandated by local building codes, is unusual for the area, Mr. Hertzberg said. A handful of homes in the Venetian Islands are elevated, he said, but most keep the understory closed and use it for parking, a movie theater or a den.
Mr. Hertzberg said buyers look for properties that are protected from sea-level rise, and this house was designed to withstand rising waters above the highest projections. Sea levels in the area are projected to rise 40 to 136 inches from their 2000 baseline by 2120, according to a report from the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact.
Another benefit of the elevation, Mr. Yoma said, is that it improves the home’s views of southern Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami, seen from floor-to-ceiling windows and wraparound balconies on both floors.
“Because it is a little bit higher than the other houses and looking over everything, you can see all of Miami,” he said.
Inside, the open-plan living area and dining room have Bianco Bellissimo honed marble floors. The kitchen is outfitted with marble countertops and Wolf and SubZero appliances, said Mr. Hertzberg.
The home has a detached office and guest suite accessible from separate entrances, a feature added during the pandemic to accommodate out-of-state buyers working remotely, Mr. Hertzberg said.