Resort-like compound with organic farm hits market for $20M

Sarasota-Bradenton area real estate agent Jayne Kocher has come a long way with her client Ryan Duncan since she first brokered a deal for him to buy a $200,000 rental property in 2014.

Her latest listing for Duncan: his family’s $20 million, customized, 12.5-acre retreat on Palma Sola Bay in Northwest Bradenton. The $20 million asking price for the property, which includes a main residence, two detached two-car garages with guest studio apartments and a separate three-bedroom caretaker home, is the highest-priced residential listing in Manatee County. It’s also home to Duncan’s certified-organic farm based on regenerative agriculture called Jubilee Organics. The farm, included in the listing, began as a backyard aquaponics system. It has since grown into a thriving business, Duncan says in Jubilee blog post, “where we control every vertical, from soil building, planting, harvesting, processing, developing recipes, preparing, packing and shipping our product…”

“It’s really a one-of-a-kind house that you have to really experience in person to see the value,” says Kocher, with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. Kocher, a Realtor for 20 years who previously served on the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority, was elected to the Bradenton City Council in the Ward One seat last year.

The list of tony real estate reality TV show features the property boasts, meanwhile, is long — including 655 feet of direct bay frontage. Inside, a “light-filled, solarium-style entrance with soaring ceilings welcomes guests to this modern farmhouse, featuring six bedrooms, seven full baths and two half-baths,” according to a statement.

The gourmet kitchen is a focal point inside, complete with soapstone and marble slabs, state-of-the-art appliances and a separate prep kitchen. A great room is adorned with reclaimed wood from an Amish barn in Ohio while the master retreat includes a reading room, walk-in dressing room, spa-like bath, personal laundry and private balcony. Ross Built Custom Homes was the builder, the release states, on a design from Jerry Sparkman of Sweet Sparkman Architecture & Interiors. “And it’s not a mausoleum,” Kocher says in an interview with the Business Observer. “This house is very lived in.”

Some of those lived in features include an infinity pool and spa as well as a boat dock and secluded yoga/meditation space and chickee hut built by the Seminole Indian Tribe. “The surrounding property is a peaceful paradise infused with fruit groves, coconut palms, banana trees, Italian cedars and ancient oaks,” according to the statement, and the biodiverse farm is also home to pigs, chickens and goats. “Designed to utilize restorative farming practices, the completely sustainable estate also uses the latest in solar and composting technology, the release adds. One more unique feature: a food forest trail, with different types of fruits and berries, line the paths of the property.

Kocher says she brokered the deal for the land for the property in 2014, and the Duncan family moved into the home in 2017. Ryan Duncan and his wife Amber Duncan paid $2 million for the land, Manatee County property records show. (Amber Duncan has started and run several businesses, including Jackie, a national clothing subscription box company.)

Kocher’s next challenge? Corral a buyer. Kocher says the right buyer could be a celebrity or professional athlete, someone with not only the financial means but also someone who wants a secluded resort-like compound. She plans to market the property in the Sotheby’s global network and is also holding private showings for brokers.

“Jubilee presents a unique opportunity to own a private bayfront resort that is also a sustainable sanctuary,” Kocher says in a statement. “Showcasing the ultimate farm-to-table lifestyle, this property offers an abundance of natural resources that will fuel the body, mind and spirit.”