Nick Saban joins other celebrity residents on Jupiter Island after $17.5 million purchase

One-time Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban quietly purchased an art-deco inspired beachfront home on Jupiter Island this past spring for $17.5 million, joining a legacy of sports-related celebrities to live in the tony enclave.

The 1.68-acre estate, which stretches from the ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway, was bought under a Delaware limited liability company named At High Tide, according to Martin County Property Appraiser records. Because of Delaware's strict corporate privacy laws, little information about the people connected to the company is available in public records.

But Realtors who represented the seller in the April deal confirmed the buyer is the head football coach at the University of Alabama. Saban, 71, led the Dolphins from 2005 to 2006.

More: Did you know these 38 celebrities lived in the Jupiter area?

Corcoran agents Joanne Wagner and Susan Turner listed the 6,200-square-foot house, which hit the market initially with a sale price of $21.5 million. Tom Hughes, of the Hughes Brown Group at Compass, represented the buyer.

“It’s a stunning property,” Wagner said.

Jupiter Island is also home to golf superstar Tiger Woods and other top celebrities

Jupiter Island, which spans Martin and Palm Beach counties, is also home to golf superstar Tiger Woods and Hall of Fame golfer Gary Player. Former celebrity residents include legendary golfer Greg Norman, country music star Alan Jackson, and singer Celine Dion.

Sports Illustrated wrote in 2019 that Saban liked to vacation on Boca Grande, an island on the Gulf Coast side of the state northwest of Fort Myers, partly because of the laid back attitude of the locals who aren’t star struck every time they see a celebrity.

Wagner said Jupiter Island residents have a similar style.

New book: Nick Saban’s wife wanted out of Miami, pushed him to Alabama

“We have a lot of high-profile people here, but it’s all very low-key, not flashy at all,” Wagner wrote in a description of the property bought by Saban.

Built in 1992 with a renovation completed in 2016, the house has 6,200 square feet, six bedrooms, marble floors, a floating staircase, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls. It has 150 feet of oceanfront and Intracoastal frontage, with a 40,000-pound boat lift.

The sellers were Bart Kavanaugh and his wife Betty Saks. The couple purchased the property in 2014.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Nick Saban buys estate on Jupiter Island joining Tiger Woods, Gary Player