Acqua Vita, a new-construction bayfront home at 5050 Gulf of Mexico Drive, has just sold for $7 million to the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company. It’s the highest price paid for a bayfront residence on Longboat Key in 10 years, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, whose agent, Lynne Koy, represented the sellers.

Architect Clifford Scholz designed the 7,250-square-foot home (11,151 square feet including outdoor living spaces). Perrone Construction was the builder.  It has five bedrooms; five full and two partial baths; a second-story master suite with private balcony, morning bar, bonus and exercise rooms; and a 500-bottle wine cellar. It sits on 115 feet of water frontage mid-key.

Alan Atchley of Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate Atchley Properties in Sarasota represented the buyer. Atchley says together they looked from Clearwater to Casey Key for a property that fit the buyer's criteria: a new or newer home in a peaceful, private setting on the Gulf or within walking distance, and--the clincher--five bedrooms. "You'd be surprised how few homes of that caliber have five bedrooms," says Atchley. "Most have four."

This was Atchley's second $7 million sale in 11 months, by the way; the other was a vacant lot in Coral Gables.

Acqua Vita ("Water of Life") originally was listed at $8.4 million when it broke ground in Spring 2015. At time of purchase, the list price had been reduced to $7.4 million.