Former Playboy president lists Siesta Key home for $20 million

Entrepreneur Randy Nicolau, former president of Playboy and founder of office furniture firm Poppin, has listed a waterfront home on Siesta Key for $19.95 million.

The property, 5151 Jungle Plum Road in the Hidden Harbor community on the Key, is undergoing extensive renovations, according to a statement from the listing agent, Joel Schemmel of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Downtown Sarasota office. Nicolau initially purchased the property as “his personal retreat,” a Premier Sotheby’s spokeswoman says, but saw “the value in the Sarasota real estate market and has decided to sell as an initial development project in this market.”

Renovations of the 8,165-square-foot home, which has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms, are expected to be complete by June. Nicolau, along with Jennifer Nicolau, of Westhampton, New York, acquired the two properties at 5151 Jungle Plum Road in December 2018 for $2.5 million, according to Sarasota County property records.

Features of the home, according to the statement, include an expansive great room with a two-story accent wall and fireplace, a floor-to-ceiling wine wall and bar, a chef’s kitchen equipped with Miele appliances and a Sub-Zero refrigerator, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls that create an indoor/outdoor flow. The second floor hosts a bonus room, while the primary retreat features a private balcony with zero-corner sliders for unobstructed water and city views. All five guest bedrooms boast en-suite bathrooms, the release states, with three offering patio access. 

The outside part of the home features an oversized pool with a clear-walled infinity edge, spa and sun shelf. The 150-foot dock can accommodate yachts, sport fishing boats or daily cruisers, and there is also nearby storage for kayaks, paddleboards, and boating or fishing gear. There’s also a full outdoor kitchen and dining area.

“This Siesta Key gem is situated in a charming old-Florida style community, a boater's paradise mere moments from award-winning white sandy beaches,” Schemmel says in the release. 

Nicolau was president of Playboy Enterprises from 2001 to 2005, according to CrunchBase. He later ran a digital advertising company and founded a software firm acquired by Adobe. In 2011 he founded Poppin, which described itself as a producer of modern, functional office furniture and supplies that "enable productivity and spark happiness.” Indiana-based furniture company Kimball International Inc. acquired Poppin in 2020 in a deal worth at least $110 million, according to WoodWorking Network, an industry news site.