Furniture heir lists $10M estate in east Manatee County — helipad optional

A 30-acre estate and home in northeast Manatee County has hit the market for $10 million, the largest mainland listing in the county currently on the MLS. 

The home, at 1245 Mill Creek Road in the Foxleigh neighborhood, was built in 2021 by Talon Home Builders, according to the listing. The agent is Bev Murray of the Murray Group; it was initially listed Aug. 1.  

The current owners of the property, on the banks of the Manatee River, are Douglas Baker and Lauren Crist, Manatee County property records show. Baker paid $1.42 million for the site in 2019, according to the county property appraiser’s office. Baker and Crist also have an entity dubbed River Retreat Farm on the property, records show. Baker’s relatives, in 1954 in Sarasota, founded Tropitone — what’s now a California-based outdoor casual furniture brand and manufacturer. The company, which maintains a facility in Manatee County, is now owned by luxury lifestyle brand Brown Jordan. 

The house, what the listing calls a Cape Dutch inspired home, is 4,489 square feet with three bedrooms, six bathrooms and a four-car garage. 

Courtesy image

The east wing of the house comprises a library, a gallery, a spacious bedroom suite and a large study/third bedroom, according to the listing. The west wing has another large bedroom suite, a study and a utility/hobby room. Each wing has a staircase to its own garage.

Between the garages on the first floor sit two large, air-conditioned spaces used as a gym and a hobby room which open onto a covered terrace overlooking the banks of the river. The estate has a separate 1,265-square-foot elevated modern guest house. 

“Wildlife plays a huge role in everyday life on the estate; it is a haven for deer, bobcat, owls, otters, turtles, eagles and countless waterbirds,” the listing states. “Nesting boxes are hung in trees to encourage and protect the birds. There is a 60-foot dock for boating and fishing; the waterways are home to tarpon, blue crab, redfish, black drum and snook, and you will often see dolphins and manatees cruising past.” 

The property has a three-acre wetland island, and agricultural zoning allows “plenty of space to keep horses or other animals, build tennis courts or install a helipad,” the listing states. In addition, there are three adjacent parcels available to add another 17 acres to the total if desired. 

There are currently at least eight other residential listings in Manatee County over $10 million — all of those are on Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island or one of the nearby beaches.