The family of a late prominent attorney sold a waterfront Venetian Islands home for $27.5 million in an off-market deal, as the Miami Beach market heats up for the busy winter season.
Records show the children of the late Daniel and Diane Heller sold the house at 50 West Dilido Drive to KC Property Holdings Land Trust. The true buyer is unknown.
Nancy Batchelor of Compass had the listing, and Karen Stauber of the Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker Realty brought the buyer, Batchelor confirmed.
Daniel Heller was a prominent Miami Beach attorney who served as general counsel to the Miami News, won the first Florida “Sunshine Law” case, and represented Bettina Batchelor in her divorce from aviation mogul George Batchelor, according to an obituary by the New York Sun. Realtor Nancy Batchelor is married to Jonathan Batchelor, the son of the late Bettina and George Batchelor. Daniel Heller died in 2008, and Diane Heller died in 2019.
Public records do not show when or for how much the Hellers bought the West Dilido Drive home. It was built in 1931 on a half-acre and spans 5,200 square feet, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a pool, according to property records.
The home is likely a teardown, sources say.
The Venetian Islands have been a hub for wealthy tech buyers in recent years. In 2019, famed WhatsApp investor Jim Goetz bought a $7.6 million home adjacent to his $22 million waterfront mansion. Billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel bought a pair of waterfront Venetian Islands homes for $22 million in 2020, and earlier this year won approval for a new, two-home compound he plans to build on the 0.6-acre property.
The market for teardowns and land in the Venetian Islands has been slower in recent years, with wealthy buyers preferring newly constructed, turnkey homes. In April, a European buyer dropped $23.9 million on a waterfront spec home designed by Max Strang. In May, James Curnin’s Clara Homes sold an unfinished waterfront spec house for $23.1 million, and former Bubble Wrap boss Jerome Peribere sold his waterfront home for $17.4 million.