Looking for a spot to build your riverfront dream home?

It just happens that a spectacular 2.2-acre residential property, jutting out into the Indian River Lagoon like a park with swaying palm trees and nearly 600 feet of river frontage, is now available in a prime location between Vero’s two bridges.

The asking price: Just under $20 million.

After trying for a year to sell a stylish but outdated mid-century home on the Riomar Bay site, the owners and their agents shifted strategy in September and decided to tear the house down to reveal the true magnificence of the riverfront parcel.

After a lengthy permitting process, demolition began in late December and wrapped up the first week in February.

That outcome was probably inevitable, given the value of the land and the age of the house, which was built in 1962, but broker associate Cindy O’Dare and Richard Boga at ONE Sotheby’s International Realty made a valiant effort to save the home at 510 River Dr.

“It was such a beautiful house, and we had so many showings, we thought there was a chance it would sell,” said O’Dare. “You don’t want to make the decision to tear that house down without exhausting every possibility.”

The house, longtime residence of the late Andrew Edmonds, a direct descendant of E.I. du Pont, who founded the DuPont chemical company, hit the market with fanfare in September 2023.

It was splashed across the pages of the Wall Street Journal’s Mansion Global section and 61 agents showed up for the open house.

“Ninety percent of the agents were wowed by the place and hoped it could be renovated instead of torn down,” O’Dare told Vero Beach 32963. “Several people said it reminded them of a Slim Aarons photograph, and three agents said they had buyers they wanted to bring by at some point.”

O’Dare and Boga did eventually receive three offers, but none were high enough to get a deal done – and all were from people who planned to tear the house down.

The 2.2-acre parcel includes two lots that were combined into a single estate. The 6,245-square-foot Slim Aarons house sat on a 1.66-acre lot, while a smaller house built by Edmonds and his wife in 1984 occupied an adjoining 0.55-acre lot. Both houses were rambling, one-story structures that obscured the expanse of the property.

“We were selling this massive, blue-chip lot but because of how it was built on and landscaped, there wasn’t a lot of ‘wow’ factor until you walked through the house and went out back,” said Boga.

The original listing price for the riverside estate was $27 million. After a while, that was reduced to just under $20 million. The two parcels were also offered separately, with the main house listed for $12.9 million and the smaller home offered for $6.9 million.

A year after it debuted, the writing was on the wall.

“The family looked to us for guidance, and they have been very receptive to our advice,” said O’Dare. “We gave it a shot. I was so happy to have a chance to showcase the house. It was a fabulous property, but it just didn’t work in today’s world.”

The teardown required permits from FDEP, the health department and the county building department, along with a special permit for removal a 1,000-gallon diesel tank that fueled a whole-house generator.

The county issued the demo permit on Dec. 16 and work got underway a few days later.

“We started just before Christmas and finished the first week in February,” said Sam Hjalmeby, the general contractor hired to take the houses down. “It was a lot of work!”

When the job was complete, the expansive lot was seeded in mid-February.

“It would be hard to find a better piece of property in Indian River County,” said Hjalmeby.

The individual parcels are still for sale at the same price – $6.9 million and $12.9 million – the complete package is now offered at a bargain $19.5 million.

“We never assigned much value to the houses,” Boga said. “We were always selling the dirt, and now buyers can actually see the property and the views.

“I think it is 50/50 where the buyer will come from. We’ve had a lot of local interest, and it could very well be a Vero buyer – perhaps even one of the three who has already made an offer. They could come back and say, ‘now I can see what I am buying.’

“Those people already understand the cache of the neighborhood and the location between the bridges and now the demolition work has been done for them.

“It could just as easily be someone who says, ‘Shoot, this would cost me much more in South Florida, if I could even find it.’

“At some point, it really starts to feel like a steal of a deal.”

“It will be much easier now for people visualize what this property is,” said Hjalmeby. “It is hard for me to believe it will be difficult to sell. Vero still has great relative values and a small-town feel that is long gone in South Florida.”

Boga said a very large house could be built on the 2.2-acre property if it is kept intact.

Building codes include something called FAR – floor area ratio – restrictions, which govern how much of a lot can be occupied by a residence.

At 510/512 River Dr., which encompasses 96,000 square feet, a home with 28,800 square feet of air-conditioned space would fit on the combined lot, according to Vero Planning and Development Director Jason Jefferies.