A Wall Street bond trader is asking $66 million for nearly 30 acres of waterfront land in Vero Beach, combining two trophy sites that stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian River Lagoon. John Devaney, founder and CEO of Miami-based United Capital Markets, is selling the upland and private submerged acreage either together or separately, with the asking price working out to roughly $2.2 million per acre.
The listing, first reported by The Real Deal, covers two parcels on what's now addressed as Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway in Vero Beach, a city about a three-hour drive north of Miami in Indian River County. Cushman & Wakefield is representing the seller, with brokers Virgilio Fernandez and Miguel Alcivar handling the deal.
The larger of the two offerings, listed at $39 million, is described as a grand oceanfront and river estate at 12906 Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway. It spans 8.6 acres of upland plus 6.2 acres of private submerged land, extending from the ocean to the lagoon and bordered by federally protected conservation land to the north and south. The second parcel, a river peninsula estate at 12505 Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway valued at $27 million, includes 8.3 acres of upland and 7.1 acres of submerged land.
Why the Address Says Buffett, Not A1A
Both properties sit along a stretch of State Road A1A that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis renamed the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway in 2024. The designation would apply to A1A from Key West to the Georgia border, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Buffett released an album called *A1A* in 1974.
The Submerged Acreage
The listing includes private submerged acreage alongside upland on both parcels, with the combined sites stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian River Lagoon.
Devaney and his family have owned the properties for more than 20 years. He originally planned to develop the sites into a family compound for his own retirement but has since changed course, putting them up for sale instead.
Two Waterfront Parcels
The Vero Beach offering combines two waterfront parcels, with acreage extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian River Lagoon.
Infrastructure work is also underway nearby. The Florida Department of Transportation is planning to replace the Sebastian Inlet Bridge and adjust connecting right-turn and acceleration lanes along the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway corridor, according to Vero News, part of a broader push to improve traffic safety and pedestrian connectivity near the inlet state park.
Part of a Bigger Portfolio Shake-Up
The Vero Beach listing follows Devaney's decision earlier this year to put his Key Biscayne compound on the market for $237 million. As Hoodline reported in its Scarface palace coverage, that 2.4-acre estate at 485 West Matheson Drive includes an 11,500-square-foot mansion with 862 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage and once served as part of President Richard Nixon's Winter White House. The mansion also appeared in the 1983 film Scarface as the residence of fictional drug kingpin Frank Lopez. Devaney bought the Key Biscayne property in 2003, according to the Miami New Times, and has used it as a family residence since.
The Key Biscayne estate carries its own colorful backstory: it was linked to Roberto Striedinger, who built or developed the site around 1981 and was later convicted of cartel-related cocaine smuggling. The property also retains a working glass elevator.
