An unusual property with 11 bedrooms on Longboat Key recently sold for more than $6 million, but its new owners say it will remain a private-family residence.
The compound at 5541 Gulf of Mexico Drive, once owned by Sarasota-area philanthropists Alex and Betty Schoenbaum, was sold to trustees Winfred Hawkins and Kari Hawkins, on Jan. 22 for $6.75 million. It s the highest price for a single-family home sale thus far in 2021.
Thomas Netzel, a broker associate with the Downtown Sarasota office of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, said the new owners intend to keep the property as a family compound. Town records show the property is zoned for a single-family home, a two-family dwelling or a multi-family dwelling of less than 10 units.