The newest record-holder on Manasota Key comes with two homes, two waterfronts and one amenity its buyer would still like to add: a paved road.

A Gulf-to-bay estate at 740 N. Manasota Key Road sold to Nashville businessman Dale Broadrick for $9.2 million in a cash deal. It's the highest-priced residential sale recorded in Englewood and on Manasota Key.

The approximately 1.1-acre property had been listed for $9.9 million.

The estate stretches between the Gulf of Mexico and Lemon Bay on the gated northern end of Manasota Key. A three-story main house, completed in 2018, stands on the Gulf side, with private beach access, a saltwater pool, waterfront terraces and an outdoor kitchen. Across the road, a two-story guesthouse built in 2015 sits beside Lemon Bay, where a dock and 10,000-pound boat lift provide direct boating access.

Designed by Englewood-based Suncoast Architect and built by Kimco Construction, the home bucks the white box stack trend. Outside, stucco walls, clay tile roofs, arched openings, wrought iron and formal courtyards give it a Mediterranean character. Inside, soaring cypress ceilings, mahogany millwork, carved stone fireplaces and chandeliers are balanced by pale marble, white cabinetry, blue accents and broad water views.

Together, the two homes have 7,515 square feet of living space and four bedrooms. The home last sold for $1.45 million in March 2014, before either residence was completed.

Broadrick, 77, and his wife, Sheryl, had spent part of each year at their home in Marathon, Florida, for about 25 years. They began looking farther north in part because they wanted easier access to top-rated hospitals, doctors, shopping and restaurants without giving up the privacy they had in the Florida Keys.

“I think that one of the things that attracted us to this area was not only the health care, but having privacy without being isolated,” Sheryl says.

The couple considered homes throughout the region before settling on Manasota Key. “We looked at every key you’ve got down through here,” Dale says.

What distinguished this property, he says, was its construction and elevation. Dale had previously managed homebuilding projects and continues to buy and improve farmland near Nashville, giving him more familiarity with construction than the average luxury home buyer. 

“The house is probably one of the most well-built houses I believe I’ve ever seen,” he says.

The Broadricks don’t plan renovations. The property already has expansive porches and an outdoor kitchen and bar near the pool with seating for about a dozen people. The guesthouse, which the former owners reportedly occupied while the main residence was under construction, gives visitors a separate home on the bay.

The guesthouse could also serve as a convenient retreat during a marital disagreement, but Dale wasn’t persuaded.

“We've never had had that problem,” he says. “We’ve been together about 35 years. We’re old enough now that we just learned to put up with each other. She puts up more with me than I do with her.”

Dale is the founder of Fleetco Inc., a Nashville-based semi-trailer company he established in 1984. The company sells, services, leases and stores commercial trailers. More than four decades later, he's still involved in the business.

The Broadricks also have an approximately 500-acre farm near White House, Tennessee, where they grow corn, beans and wheat. They plan to spend about six months a year in Florida—generally January through June, some of the best months of the year here.

Much of that time will likely be spent on the water. Dale owns a 60-foot Viking fishing boat and fishes in Florida and the Bahamas, with yellowtail snapper a favorite catch. Sheryl coats it with panko and bakes it rather than frying it.

“When I go fishing, that’s what we eat that night,” Dale says. “So if I don’t catch anything, we don’t eat.” He quickly concedes that isn’t really true, and says he's looking forward to checking out downtown Sarasota for what he heard was "a good food scene."

Manasota Key is a narrow barrier island between the Gulf and Lemon Bay, divided between Sarasota and Charlotte counties. The surrounding northern stretch is marked by large residential lots and a private, gated road, offering a quieter setting than the more commercially developed southern portion of the key.

Michelle Hupp of Keller Williams represented the seller; Roger Pettingell of Coldwell Banker Realty represented the buyer.