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Billionaire Eddie Lampert Buying Record-Breaking $40 Million Indian Creek Home

This article is more than 10 years old.

Sears Holdings Corp. hasn't been, well, holding up very well. The company reported a $2.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 and more recently, announced plans to sell off three divisions and 11 brick-and-mortar locations. But while Sears is liquidating assets, the company's chairman, hedge fund billionaire Edward Lampert, is buying one for himself: a $40 million mansion on Florida's ultra exclusive Indian Creek Island.

Lampert, worth $3 billion on the Forbes' 400 list, is in contract on a 17,000-square foot Italian-style abode that wasn't listed publicly for sale. Lampert will pay just under $40 million -- a record-breaking price -- for it. Once closed, the deal will be the largest single family home sale  in Miami-Dade County since 2006, and one of the largest ever. Until now, the highest post-bubble price paid in the county was  $25.5 million in 2011, by Russian billionaire Roustam Tariko, for a 15,000-square foot Star Island estate.

"This is probably one of Miami's finest homes in terms of architectural quality," says Jorge Uribe, a senior vice president with ONE Sotheby's International Realty and the agent representing both sides of this deal. "It's a significant house in a significant location." Uribe says the deal will close within the next several weeks.

The waterfront manse's seller is Miami businessman Paul Cejas, a former US Ambassador to Belgium and Miami-area businessman, and his wife, Trudy. The couple purchased the 2.7-acre property in 1998, tore down the existing home, and built a neo-Palladian villa in the past several years with the help of Palm Beach architect Joe Brennan, renowned interior designer Axel Vervoordt, and Belgian landscape architect Peter Wirtz.  The estate touts seven bedrooms, thriteen bathrooms, a two-story portico supported by Doric- and Ionic-style columns, a terraced pool area and an "arrival court" sporting a hedge-flanked reflection pool. The grounds boast 400 feet of water frontage.

Lampert, whose primary residence is located in Greenwich, Conn., will join a notable list of rich and famous homeowners on the posh private island including investor billionaire Carl Icahn, mutual fund billionaire Charles Johnson, billionaire auto magnate Norman Braman, Latin singer Julio Iglesias and supermodel Adriana Lima. A barrier island situated off the coast of Miami Beach, Indian Creek Island holds a mere 32 homes and an 18-hole golf course. Despite its close proximity to the Magic City, the island technically constitutes its own village. Residents have their own mayor and their own full-time police force. Uribe, whom represents a number of billionaire clients, notes that security for the island is rigorous: a person cannot access the island unless his or her name is on the list with security.

Uribe thinks this newest deal is a preview of what is to come in the local real estate market -- a market where home prices fell roughly 50% from the 2007 peak. "The city has reinvented itself in the past 10 to 15 years. Before then, for people of high-net worth, Miami was not as much of an option" says Uribe. But that has changed. For the first three months of 2012 alone, Uribe expects to rack up a staggering $100 million in transactions, including this deal.

If Uribe is right and more billionaire buyers do flock to the Miami area this year, they have their pick of multimillion dollar estates to choose from, including another Indian Creek property. That 2-acre, 30,000-square foot "resort-style" estate was built by real estate developer Shlomi Alexander, on speculation. It has sat on the market since late 2010, initially listed for $60 million. But last week, perhaps in light of the Lampert purchase, the asking price dropped 13% to $52 million.