Fascinating and Very Risqué History of $50 Million Fort Lauderdale Gem Revealed

A staggering Fort Lauderdale, FL, property with a fascinating—and rather risqué—architectural history has hit the market for an astounding $49,995,000.

The six-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom mansion has a cantilever design that gives it the appearance of floating atop the canal that surrounds it on three sides.

But the cantilever is not the only fascinating part of this property’s history, or design.

According to Mansion Global, the home was designed by famed architect Max Strang at the behest of his clients Brad and Shona Tuckman, the original owners of this modernist property.

However, when the Tuckmans enlisted Strang to design a home for them, they did so with a different plot of land in mind—one that they had purchased for $2.25 million just a stone’s throw away, on the edge of the same canal.

According to Brad, who is an entrepreneur and founder of The Fort, a pickleball club and restaurant set to open at the end of the year, Strang took the job incredibly seriously. He recalled how the architect set about examining every inch of the site, even “climbing trees” to assess the best views from a potential home.

But instead of a stunning vista, the architectural mastermind spotted something far more eye-opening: a nude man strolling along the canal.

“As he’s doing it, some dude across the canal is walking around naked—he’s a nudist guy—around 150 feet away,” Brad told Mansion Global in 2022. Strang factored in the potential for unwanted nudity to his original design, opting to create a home that featured very few canal-facing windows.

“He didn’t want to see the naked guy,” Brad joked.

As it happened, such precautions were unnecessary, because the Tuckmans ended up buying a separate $7,845,000 plot of land—the sought-after area at the tip of the peninsula, which was once owned by billionaire Wayne Huizenga. And it was here that they decided to construct their home.

“Nobody misses the house. It’s really stunning,” says listing agent Tim Elmes, with Compass. “Most homes that are two stories are a solid two stories. This has got these big empty spaces, one in the middle and one under the cantilever. I don’t know of another home that is cantilevered like this.”

According to seller Brad, while the cantilever may be one of the more stunning and unique elements of the home, its creation was more of a problem-solving measure—namely to deal with potential flooding.

After he and Shona, a filmmaker, discovered that the land was prone to flooding, they decided to lift it up using the cantilever. The process cost about $1 million.

Thankfully, it seems the arduous architectural move was worth it.

The home was completed in 2020 and is now listed for just under $50 million.

And while the price is high, the home offers many awe-inspiring touches courtesy of Strang, including the property’s exterior, which looks to be made of wood but is constructed from a very different material altogether.

“It’s porcelain tile, which is more and more in vogue, and [the sellers] were early on in doing it,” Elmes explains. “It looks like wood unless you touch it. You’d think it was wood, but it’s impervious to sun and weather.”

Award-winning architect Strang designed the 9,995-square-foot home to take advantage of the expansive waterfront.

“It may be the only home in the entire city, brand-new home in mint condition on over an acre,” Elmes says. “Most homes have 100 feet [of waterfront]. Most point lots have 300 plus or minus. This has 740 feet of waterfront with insane views.”

The plot of land also boasts an impressive heritage.

Former owner Huizenga, who died in 2018, was the former owner of the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Panthers, and the Miami Marlins and founder of businesses such as Waste Management and Blockbuster.

The modern cantilevered home on the prime site has four bedrooms, all with walls of windows. An attached guesthouse has an additional bedroom as well as a full apartment.

The outdoor space includes a pool that runs the length of the home and, of course, a pickleball court. There is an extra lot between the house and the neighbor’s home.

The buyer “could use it for whatever, a football field, soccer for the kids, or they could develop a house for the kids when they get older. It’s a very unique property in that respect,” Elmes says.

Currently, there is a small dock for a runabout, but Elmes says there is plenty of space for a much larger boat.

The sellers are downsizing, and Elmes says there have been a few showings already.

As for the perfect buyer, it’s “whoever can write a check for $50 million,” Elmes says.

“If you spend that kind of coin, you kind of want to have something that doesn’t look like a cookie-cutter house, right? This wins that competition in spades,” he says.