Sold GMD house boasts iconic roots and guests

The house at 5881 Gulf of Mexico Drive sold May 27 for $2.9 million sight unseen to a buyer from the Czech Republic.

Does the home look familiar?

It was built as the identical twin to the house at 4011 Gulf of Mexico Drive, which is featured on artist John Dineen’s iconic poster of Longboat Key.

But, today the homes look more like distant cousins than twins.

The house at 5881 Gulf of Mexico Drive is the “identical twin on steroids,” said Richard Perlman, of Michael Saunders & Co.’s Longboat Key South office, who listed the home.

The home in Dineen’s poster was built in 1965; five years later, the same builder constructed an identical home two-and-a-half miles to the original home’s north.

In 1980, the owners added to the original structure.

“It’s shaped like a ‘U.’ The sides are the addition,” Perlman said.

Ivo Travnicek, of Regency Realty Solutions in Boca Raton, represented the buyer.

The 3,200-square-foot home is built entirely of cypress, inside and out, and has four bedrooms and an exceptionally deep beach. It’s so secluded that celebrities seeking privacy have stayed at the house over the years, including members of Aerosmith, according to a Michael Saunders & Co. statement.

The home went under contract 131 days after it was listed.

The seller of the home was Gail Hannah, according to property records. The name of the buyer of the home was not immediately available through the Manatee County Clerk of the Court.