The most expensive home listing in Northeast Florida history is set to create a massive impact in the fight against brain cancer.
Rick Sontag, the entrepreneur behind the $25.5 million Ponte Vedra Beach mansion, has gifted the property to the Sontag Foundation, the cancer research nonprofit he founded with his late wife, Susan Sontag.
Key Details:
- All proceeds from the sale will fund brain tumor research.
- The 10-bedroom, 9,870-square-foot oceanfront home at 1185 Ponte Vedra Boulevard boasts 320 feet of ocean frontage.
- Broker Michelle Floyd (Sotheby’s International Realty) confirmed Sontag donated the home to the foundation before listing it.
“Think what $25 million is going to do for brain cancer research,” Floyd said.
A Mission Born from Tragedy
Susan was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1994, the same year the oceanfront estate was built. She defied the odds, living nearly three decades beyond her initial prognosis before passing in 2022.
Rick, a Harvard Business School graduate, had already built his Jacksonville-based aerospace firm, Unison Industries, into a major success. In 2002, he sold the company and dedicated the proceeds to launching the Sontag Foundation, now one of the largest brain tumor research funders in the world.
A Private Oceanfront Oasis
The Mediterranean-style estate, designed by Hanson Architects and built by Dana Kenyon, features:
- A long, winding driveway flanked by lush greenery for total privacy.
- One of the highest elevations in Ponte Vedra Beach (approx. 30 feet above sea level).
- Soaring ceilings and a grand atrium illuminated by a 16×30-foot skylight.
Sontag currently resides in the home but will relocate to a smaller property nearby after the sale.
A Record-Breaking Sale?
If sold near its asking price, the estate will set a new record for Northeast Florida, surpassing the $22 million sale of a nearby home to former T-Mobile CEO John Legere in 2023.
“There is not another parcel like this in all of Northeast Florida,” Floyd said.