Medical center mogul drops $30M on waterfront Fort Lauderdale spec mansion

A medical center mogul dropped $29.5 million on a waterfront spec mansion in Fort Lauderdale developed by brothers Dov and Aldo Stark. The sale price falls $3 million shy of the Broward County residential price record.

Records show Anthony and Kristen DeGradi bought the house at 733 Middle River Drive from an LLC named for the address and managed by the Starks.

The Starks are longtime residents and developers in Fort Lauderdale. Dov Stark founded and leads Prestige Construction, and Aldo Stark owns Prestige Design Homes. Dov Stark is also an agent with Charles Rutenberg Realty Fort Lauderdale and had the listing.

Anthony DeGradi is one of the owners of Surgicore, a company that operates ambulatory surgery centers in New York and New Jersey for surgeries that do not require hospital care. 

Austin Baris of Miles Goldstein Real Estate brought the buyer.

Records show the Starks bought the 0.4-acre property for $4 million in 2021. They finished construction of the 11,700-square-foot mansion late last year. It spans five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and four half-bathrooms, the listing shows. The property includes 108 feet of waterfront, a pool, spa, gym, library, movie theater, and a rooftop terrace with a putting green and spa, according to the listing. 

The Starks custom-designed furniture for the mansion and sold it fully furnished, Dov Stark said. 

The property also comes with a new seawall and dock that can accommodate a super yacht, and is in a guard gated community.

The mansion was first listed for $24 million in May 2021, and the Starks bumped the asking price up to $35 million in December, Redfin shows.

The sale price came $3 million shy of the Broward County price record of $32.5 million, set in August when a self-storage honcho bought a waterfront spec compound in Fort Lauderdale. 

Price growth surged to unprecedented highs in South Florida’s pandemic real estate boom. Despite a cooling market, Dov Stark is confident that Fort Lauderdale’s luxury sector will sustain its price growth, and he’s already at work trying to set a new price record.

“We’re going to level up. The demand is still there,” he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think the market is going to stay like that for a little bit.”

The developer says he’s got two other Fort Lauderdale projects in the works, one that will be priced at $35 million, and another double-lot estate that will be priced at $50 million. If the latter project were to sell for Stark’s target price, it would mark Broward County’s first trophy property.

Fort Lauderdale’s luxury market is experiencing price cuts, though. This month, a health care entrepreneur bought a waterfront Fort Lauderdale spec house for $14.8 million, $3.2 million under its highest asking price.