K
arlton Companies has recently purchased a waterfront property on the Sunset Islands in Miami Beach for $19 million. The company, led by father and son Fred and Aaron Karlton, intends to build an ultra-luxury spec mansion on the half-acre property located at 1649 West 22nd Street on Sunset Island IV. The property was previously owned by 164922 LLC, led by Steven Price.

    The new mansion will be a staggering 10,500 square feet, featuring seven bedrooms, a media room that can be converted into an eighth bedroom, nine full bathrooms, and two half-bathrooms. The mansion will also include a lower level that can house eight cars, and a dual-level pool that will flow down from the main floor to the lower level.

    Julian Johnston of The Corcoran Group represented both the buyer and seller in this transaction. He noted that two properties next door are currently under construction for end-users. Interestingly, when the new mansion is under construction, it will be the only west-facing home for sale on the Sunset Islands.

    The property currently houses a 4,845-square-foot, three-story house built in 1988. Fred Karlton plans to demolish this house after Labor Day weekend, and construction of the new mansion is expected to take about 14 months to complete. He has not yet determined what price he will ask for the completed mansion.

    Records show that the older home previously traded for $13.4 million in 2021, indicating an appreciation of nearly 42 percent in about three years. The Miami Beach-based Karlton recently completed the waterfront mansion at 6494 Allison Road in Miami Beach, which is currently listed for nearly $35 million.

    The company is actively seeking other properties to purchase and redevelop, according to Fred Karlton. The residential market in South Florida has been thriving, with single-family home sales dollar volume and single-family prices rising in July. This trend is evident in the sale of waterfront homes like the one at 2770 Sunset Drive, which was sold for $16.7 million by Starwood Capital managing director Austin Nowlin to an unknown buyer. Similarly, Douglas Elliman agent Oliver Lloyd sold a waterfront Sunset Islands spec mansion for $34.4 million in the same month. Despite this, the record $36 million former Google CEO Eric Schmidt paid for the waterfront Sunset Islands home of Craig Robins and Jackie Soffer still stands as the highest sale in the area.