Retired neurosurgeon, former presidential hopeful and perpetual golf enthusiast Ben Carson is upping his game–he and his wife, Candy, just spent $4.37 million for a luxurious home in one of the most exclusive gated golfing communities in Florida, according to DailyMail.com, which first reported the story.
The Tuscan-style mansion, in Palm Beach Gardens’ Old Palm Golf Club, covers 8,782 square feet on 1.1 acres. It features five bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom; an open kitchen and family room that open onto an outdoor living area; floor-to-ceiling windows; sliding glass pocket doors; a home theater with seating for 20; an elevator to the second floor; an elaborate pool with a step waterfall; two garages, with room for six cars, and views of the lush 15th fairway and green.
The gated club covers 650 acres and includes a 180-acre golf course that features some natural forested areas; a 33-acre practice area with teaching tees and practice holes, and a 43,000-square-foot clubhouse that has a private wine room, a grill room, concierge service, spa suites, whirlpools, steam rooms, a fitness center, and indoor and outdoor massage areas.
Just 294 homes have full-time access to the club and its many amenities.
Among the Carsons’ new neighbors are developer Don Soffer, owner of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen and British golfer Lee Westwood. Mar-a-Lago, opulent home of Donald Trump—Dr. Carson’s former rival for the Republican presidential nomination—is just 18 miles away.
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Thomas Baldwin of Equestrian Sotheby’s International Realty in Wellington, Fla., who represented the Carsons in the purchase, called the location unique. "Old Palm is one of the most exclusive gated golf communities in Palm Beach County and in South Florida," he told Mansion Global. "It is home to professional golf players, including several winners of the Master’s. The community as a whole, because of its privacy, security and location, draws a very special clientele throughout the world."
According to the Daily Mail, the sellers represented a mortgage company that had seized the mansion in a foreclosure. Mr. Baldwin said they had lots of work done on the property before putting it on the market in December for $5.4 million. The price was reduced several times, according to the Daily Mail, before the Carsons purchased it for $4.37 million in June.
The Old Palm property is a step up from the Carsons’ current Florida residence, a more modest home at the Ibis Golf and Country Club in West Palm Beach. The couple purchased that house from former Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner John Rooney for $775,000 in 2013, after Dr. Carson retired as head of pediatric surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
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