Gordon Pointe – a sprawling beachfront estate in Naples, Florida – should be a billionaire’s dream-come-true. The $295,000,000 property has six bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, parking for 11 cars, a gazebo, and a private boat dock.
It also has a 95% chance of flooding within the next 30 years, according to experts.
“It’s almost a certainty this property will experience a flood,” climate risk researcher, Jeremy Porter, told the Guardian.
Like its opulent neighbors, in Naples’ exclusive Port Royal neighborhood, Gordon Pointe was built directly on the water – with developers clearing away sand dunes, marshes, and other naturally protective features in the process. Now, as sea levels rise, these vast mansions have basically no defenses against the ocean or extreme weather.
“There has been building right out on to the beach, we are very low-lying, we don’t have good dune fortifications now and no one really thought about storm surge here until Ian happened,” climate expert and Florida Gulf Coast University professor Michael Savarese told the Guardian. “The entire region is highly vulnerable to nuisance flooding and storm surge and if we keep having storms like the last two years there’s no time to catch our breath.”
Savarese added that Port Royal’s homeowners are “buying time, borrowed time” before sea levels rise to a point where every high tide comes with the risk of flooding.
In Naples, city officials are trying to create plans to mitigate the continued threat of rising tides – though there are some state-level obstacles. When the city drafted a report, appealing to state officials for assistance, they had to delete any mention of climate change, according to the Guardian. This is the result of policy implemented by Governor Ron DeSantis, striking most references to climate change from state laws.
The person who ends up purchasing Gordon Pointe, however, will certainly have the resources to attempt to protect the property on their own dime. The future homeowner can expect to pay as much as seven figures in insurance each year, Katherine Frattarola, an insurance advisor to the ultra-rich, told the Guardian. She added, however, that the person purchasing such an expensive property “isn’t really thinking about risk.”
“They are thinking about how much they love Naples and, frankly, having the most expensive home in America.”