Fire Damages Miami Beach “Castle” Listed For Sale
By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | July 17, 2009
According to Miami’s Justnews.com, a well-known mansion on Miami Beach burned to the ground was destroyed by fire this morning. Located at 4462 N Bay Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33140 (above), the 10-bed, 7.5-bath home was listed for sale for $6.9 million. It was built by Capt. Michael Burke, the founder of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises.
The house has a bit of a weird history. According to justnews.com:
In 1997, a man accused of posing as a wedding planner was arrested after he claimed to own the home and accepted two checks worth a total of $5,000 from a couple so they could be married there.
The home has been rented out for events, but mostly sits empty, which is a source of concern for neighbors and law enforcement officials.
“I call it the devil house and I’m very happy to see it goes up in flames. Obviously, no one was living there so nobody’s hurt. So I’m very happy to see it go bye-bye,” said neighbor Christian deBerdouare.
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- Categories: Real Estate Oddities, Unique Architecture
Comments
6 Comments so far
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Mark Jacobs on July 17, 2009 5:19 pm
6.9 million for that?
Augusta Real Estate
MiamiCondoShop on July 20, 2009 1:19 pm
The castle will be missed. It was one of those places you could take your clients that they would never believe.
abe vigoda on July 21, 2009 7:43 am
Shocking. An empty mansion burned down. I hope the police investigate for arson.
janet on November 2, 2009 10:37 am
this was the most amazing castle ever my freinds and i would walk through it and just get lost in the castles beauty i have never seen anything like it. It being burnt down is defintly a great lost
Natalie on November 10, 2009 10:06 am
It has NOT been burnt to the ground, check your facts or visit the place yourself before making a fool of yourself for reporting that which is not true. The castle is standing without a problem. Sure, it may be burnt in some areas but it has NOT burnt to the ground, which would imply it is now non-existent. It is very much there; I drive by every weekend to look at it and though it will soon be demolished and you presently cannot enter the structure, it’s still a magnificent site. Might want to investigate those awful neighbors though, who hated the castle and were happy to see it gone. They sound mighty suspicious to me. The price reflects mostly the value and location of the house; it is beachfront property with boat docking in a very coveted area of the beach with celebrity neighbors. The castle needed much interior repair and therefore the price did not really include much of a value for the castle itself in the $4.9 million price tag (not $6.9 million, see http://www.nelsongonzalez.com/Real_Estate/Property/M1277467/Miami-Beach-Homes.html for the listing).
Kasia Demare on November 24, 2009 7:17 am
interesting planning!