$7.5 million Florida mansion with synagogue for sale
Palatial home built by Israeli-American couple boasts several Jewish amenities
Renee Ghert-Zand is the health reporter and a feature writer for The Times of Israel.
If you’re tired of shlepping to shul, you might want to consider buying a house newly on the market in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with its very own synagogue.
Well, you might want to consider it if you have a spare $7.5 million — the asking price for the property. This tidy sum entitles you to walk (or take the private elevator) up to the second floor to your very own fully-decked out house of worship.
But the $7.5m. will get you a whole lot more than just a private place to pray. The fully-wired smart home, located at 3600 Estate Oak Circle, also features a hi-tech home theater, a fully equipped gym, a saltwater pool, a billiards room, a basketball court, and more.
Even the house’s Jewish amenities go beyond the synagogue: There are three kosher kitchens (including one upstairs for whipping up midnight snacks). And right off the palatial dining room is a hand washing station replete with multiple sinks, above which sits a mirror into which the blessing for ritual hand washing is artfully etched.
“It’s so people don’t have to leave the dining room to wash when they are gathered for a holiday meal,” noted Chad Carroll, the Douglas Elliman Real Estate agents tasked with the house sale.
According to The Real Deal, the sellers are Yizhak and Liat Toledano. Yizhak Toledano is an Israeli-born real estate developer in his early 40s who is the founding CEO of Sky Development. It was reported in 2008 that Sky Development was to start a $300 million fund to buy distressed properties around the US, with the goal of building up a portfolio of $1 billion with an exit strategy of one to four years.
According to the biography on Toledano’s company website, he and his wife have seven children.
The Toledano’s house is definitely suited for a large family, with 12 bedrooms and 13.5 bathrooms.
‘It is by far the nicest home I have ever seen. It is a showpiece, a trophy home’
Broward Country property records show that the Toledanos bought two adjacent lots in the Hollywood Oaks gated community in 2009 for $2.4 million and built their house on them.
“It is by far the nicest home I have ever seen. It is a showpiece, a trophy home. It takes up almost a whole city block and looks like a clubhouse as you drive up to it,” said Carroll.
According to Carroll, what sets this home apart from the others in the community is not only its size, but also its design and craftsmanship.
“You can feel the luxury the minute you walk in. All the details are handpicked and sourced from around the world. They used all imported materials, including a lot of onyx. Every doorknob is lined with crystal or precious metals,” Carroll said.
“The synagogue is amazing. It’s the most beautiful synagogue I’ve seen. It has custom detailing on the ceiling and the woodworking is phenomenal,” he added.
‘You can feel the luxury the minute you walk in. All the details are handpicked and sourced from around the world’
Carroll said he was not at liberty to say anything about the owners’ motivation to sell the house, which he said was obviously built to be lived in by the owners.
“You don’t build a house like this to flip it,” he said.
The agent intimated that the house was practically a steal at the asking price.
“It takes well above $7.5 million to build a house of this caliber. It would take $10 million or more to replicate it,” Carroll said.
3600 Estate Oak Circle has been on the market for just a couple of days, and there has reportedly already been a lot of interest in it.
“This property won’t last long on the market,” Carroll predicted.
We suppose it will all depend on how many buyers are out there looking to house a Torah of their own.