Newest Star of Dragon’s Den, Michael Wekerle Purchases Former Anheuser-Busch Estate
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (July 1, 2014)— Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate sales associate, Tim Elmes of the company’s Fort Lauderdale Las Olas Office, closed on 1000 Riviera Drive in Fort Lauderdale for $12.5 million. The home was built in 1938 for the Anheuser-Busch family. Designed by Francis Abreu, protégé of Addison Mizner, the 12,533-square-foot estate encompasses six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and four half bathrooms. Located on an Intracoastal point lot, it has 525 feet of deep water frontage with wide water views, and is one of the largest waterfront properties in East Fort Lauderdale. Wekerle also owns another residential property in Fort Lauderdale, which was just listed for $10 million with Tim Elmes.
The home is located on a 52,896-square-foot lot. Unique outdoor features include an oversized lap pool, outdoor band shell with sprawling lawns, 12-foot-privacy hedges, banyan trees and ample waterfront dockage. There is a two-bedroom guest home on the property in addition to a media room, chef’s kitchen and gym in the main house. The most recent upgrades to the home include double glazed hurricane impact windows and a city gas whole house generator. Wekerle will be the seventh owner of this estate, and has not been owned by an Anheuser-Busch family member since the late 1960s.
"I have been a Florida resident for 25 years. My late wife fell in love with this house at first sight. We would take boat rides on the Intercoastal and were enchanted with this estate and its spectacular view. This house represents both emotional and physical value. My family and I look forward to creating many memories at this historical home,” said Wekerle.
Michael Wekerle is CEO of Toronto-based Difference Capital, Inc., a merchant banking firm. His company manages and invests in a variety of businesses. Michael has personally invested in commercial properties in Fort Lauderdale and the Canadian rights to Mark Wahlberg’s burger franchise, Wahlburgers®. Most recently, Wekerle was asked to be the newest Dragon on the CBC network’s hit-show, “Dragon’s Den”.
“There is nothing quite like working with a skilled and successful CEO. He is the kind of buyer who knows what he wants and goes for it. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Michael on the purchase of this estate and the listing of his current home,” said Elmes, a Coldwell Banker Previews International ® property specialist.
For more information on Tim Elmes, please visit his website at TimElmes.com.
About Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate is a leading full-service residential real estate company with more than 75 offices and 4,800 sales associates serving the communities of Central Florida, Palm Beach, Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida and Tampa Bay. Worldwide, the Coldwell Banker network includes 3,100 offices with nearly 85,000 sales associates spanning more than 50 countries. Every day, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate properties are exposed to 16 million buyers on more than 725 high-traffic websites. For more information or to view local listings, visit FloridaMoves.com. To learn more about a career in real estate or Coldwell Banker, visit JoinCBToday.com. Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate is a subsidiary of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company.
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