Casey Key recently reopened and remains under a water boil advisory due to Hurricane Idalia, but that didn't stop this $12 million cash sale from going through for the sellers, former Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer and his wife Marenda.

In fact, despite the flooding and all the bells and whistles of your average Florida hurricane, the waterfront home sold for the most money a Casey Key sale has seen in more than two years: $12 million cash.

We interviewed the Stitzers last year and wrote about the home when it was initially listed for $20 million, making it the most expensive listing on Casey Key at the time.

The purchase, which also counts as Sarasota County’s second-most expensive residential sale this year—the most expensive thus far sold for $12.25 million—underscores the enduring appeal of waterfront properties, despite the fact that along with stunning views, they’re also located in annual-yet short-lived evacuation zones. However, since the home's buyers are already well-established in Florida, they knew about all that before committing to the Gulf-front location.

We don't know a whole lot more about them, but we know that they recently sold their home in Boca Grande and have a well-established business in Lakeland, Florida, where they have another home. But "they were looking further south and wanted something closer to civilization," says Valerie Dall’Acqua, who along with Lisa Napolitano—both of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty—represented the sellers. "When they got to Casey Key, they knew this was it.” 

The buyers, a couple, also wanted a home large enough to accommodate their kids and grandchildren. With six bedrooms and seven-and-a-half bathrooms spanning nearly 12,000 square feet on almost an acre, along with 100 square feet of private beachfront, they got that.

As for hurricanes like Idalia, Dall'Acqua says that "everything that happened here was expected." She adds that, unlike many natural disasters like tornadoes and earthquakes, you can at least be forewarned, to a degree, about a hurricane and prepare for it.

"People who really value the beach, the views and boating understand they go together," she says. "Those who are afraid of [hurricanes] move to Lakewood Ranch. It’s a risk-tolerance scenario." 

It also helped that the home is stunning and move-in-ready.

Brian Corcoran of Boca Grande-based BRC Group, who represented the buyers in the transaction, says, "Of the properties we looked at in Sarasota, this one fit the bill all around. It's phenomenally built."

He adds that the couple had been shopping around for roughly six months and found the biggest obstacle to be price. "The sum of the homes we looked at were overpriced—this was $17 million [reduced from $20 million] when we first saw it," he says. "But they thought $12 million was a fair market deal."

"It's way more expensive in Boca Grande. You still get more for your money on Casey Key," he continues.

Designed by Naples-based Herscoe Hajjar Architects and built by The Aerial Companies, the home evokes the styles of the 18th- and 19th-century Caribbean homes constructed by British planters. It was designed in the shape of an "H" to allow breezes to cross-ventilate the rooms—and bring the outside in, when the weather agrees.

It also has an infinity-edge pool, exercise room, sauna, tiki hut on the beach, and boating and kayak lifts. Despite its traditional façade, it has an integrated solar panel system, whole-house generator, eight-car drive-through garage and separate boating garage. The project took the Stitzers three years and cost roughly $14 million dollars to complete. 

As for any sweeping changes, it sounds like the new buyers are leaving the Casey Key home as is.

"I've been selling luxury homes here for 23 years," Dall'Acqua says. "This house was just so beautiful, with all the custom millwork and mahogany and custom finishes. They don't have to do a thing to it."