Portillo-Linked Naples Florida Spec Mansion Trades for $15M

A Naples waterfront spec mansion developed by a team that included Portillo’s founder Dick Portillo sold for over $15.1 million, marking the first deal to close from a trio of high-end Florida listings tied to the Chicago restaurateur.

The five-bedroom home at 1640 Dolphin Court, with 157 feet of frontage along Naples Bay, sold Monday for about 89 percent of its nearly $17 million asking price, as first reported by Crain’s. The property hit the market in February 2025 as part of a three-home portfolio Portillo and his partners were pitching for a combined $57.4 million.

The Dolphin Court sale leaves two properties still on the market, both now repriced. A 16,800-square-foot penthouse at the Seasons tower on Seagate Drive is asking just under $25 million, down from $32.5 million a year ago. A 5,000-square-foot house on Second Avenue has been trimmed to about $11 million from an initial $12.5 million asking price.

Portillo’s name was featured prominently in the original listings, but it was removed by the time the Dolphin Court home sold. Still, he remains involved, Chris Covelli told the outlet. He is a principal at C&E Construction, which partnered with Portillo and Theory Design’s Ruta Menaghlazi on the developments.

Covelli said the team is pleased with the sale, but has no additional projects planned together for now. Portillo and listing agent Dawn McKenna of Coldwell Banker Realty declined to comment.

Records show a Covelli-led entity bought the roughly 0.4-acre Dolphin Court site for $5.6 million in late 2022, razed the existing house and built the contemporary waterfront home. The property features a glass-edged pool overlooking the bay and high-end finishes, including matte wood floors, black-framed doors and stone countertops.

The buyers were represented by Re/Max Alliance Group’s Pat Wilkins, who declined to identify them.

Portillo sold his namesake hot dog chain in 2014 in a deal reportedly nearing $1 billion. Since then, he has focused on real estate, including retail landlord plays and high-end residential projects.

— Eric Weilbacher