'Magical Island Kingdom' For Sale Off Maine Coast
PORTLAND, Maine (CBS/AP) — A private island replete with a mansion, two guest houses, and a barn with workers' quarters is on the market in Maine for $7.95 million.
Developer John Cacoulidis bought the 86-acre (0.13-square-mile) Hope Island in 1993 for $1.3 million. The real estate listing says, "No expense was spared creating this magical island kingdom."
"You arrive into your own island kingdom," Landvest broker John St. Amour told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "It's totally self-contained. It has a submerged cable to the mainland for power. And once you're on the island with a deep-water dock and anchorage, you have a series of buildings that offer very comfortable year-round accommodations."
The property includes an 11,295-square-foot (1,049-square-meter) main house with six bathrooms and three bedrooms. It also features a 10-stall horse barn, a tavern for entertaining, a private chapel and a boat house with a deep-water pier.
"The island has concrete roadways with streetlights and submerged underground cables for utilities," St. Amour said. "Eight ponds, stone walls, wonderful wildlife."
The property in Casco Bay is a 25-minute boat ride from Portland.
St. Amour said Cacoulidis is no longer using the island like he had in the past.
"I sold the island to the current owner back in 1993, and it was a passion for this family to enjoy the ownership of an entire island with easy access into Portland, but having total privacy," he said. "The island is technically owned by a corporation out of New Jersey, but the people who have lived there year-round, one of the family members did pass away last year."
St. Amour said there are stores, golf courses, and restaurants on the nearby islands even closer than Portland.
"Though you are on an island, it's not as if you are in the middle of nowhere," he said.
Interest, so far, has been "outstanding," he said.
"Once it came on the market about two weeks ago, we've had showings, we've had people lined up to see the property next week, so the interest has been very, very strong," he said.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
