In the case of this 3-floor South Florida penthouse, exterior square footage bests interior by better than fifty percent: 8,272 within, and 13,149 without. In an Apogee building, that’s especially remarkable.
The condominium is owned by venture capitalist Bill Duker, who purchased in in 2008 for about $17 million. Duker is now marketing it for a potentially record-breaking $65M.
The 8,200 square foot home was apparently five years in the making. Judging by his yacht Sybaris, which expanded during custom construction until it reached a staggering 230 feet, Duker seems to find comfort within process.
So the penthouse is ostentatious, yes, but only as one would expect. How about a glass-enclosed spiral staircase with glass steps? The odd catwalk? Drenched in the luxuriant utilitarian mannerisms of the late 20th century, the modernist industrial design is spectacularly large and bright, with sheets of windows blazing rooms alight.
Duker has made a fine job of sprinkling bits of artistic expression around the place, but the selections seem to merely enhance the home. Chilly and palatial, the interior is a fascinating contemporary tour-de-force. Somewhere there must be a vintage Thorens with a first press Impulse prominently featured. ‘The Blues and the Abstract Truth,’ perhaps.
The outdoor terracing is where things get really interesting. At over 13,000 square feet, the usable outdoor space includes wrap-around balconies and pool area. The views from the 24th floor of the Apogee building are breathtaking. If you look carefully, you might see Sybaris sailing into the distance. Sybaris, like the Apogee penthouse, was a long time finishing. Like the penthouse, the Sybaris project yielded striking, if grandiose, results; Sybaris in this context indicates, simply, serpentine.
Duker is a Yale Law graduate. In 1997, a professional double standard sent him to prison for fraud, after he’d both recovered millions for the U.S. government and overbilled it too. He then found success as a venture capitalist, and established The Bernard and Millie Foundation, named after his parents, which donated $25 million to the Albany Medical Center in 2014. An interesting fellow, to say the least. Gifted lawyer, ex-convict, businessman, philanthropist and, apparently, never at a loss for a new horizon.
