Tag: real estate

Private Island home with a Moat

A moat around your sanctuary is super-badass and a private island is basically the biggest moat you can get – but what about a private island with a moat?… Now we’re talking “dinosaurs with lasers” level of Awesome.

Of course, being a moat isn’t the intended use of the feature (it’s really just a wave barrier), but don’t kill the dream! Meh, besides, it’s overpriced anyway.

This newly listed private island is nice, but not worth the $12 million asking price for it’s size and location.Or maybe the exact opposite: it’s worth that much because of it’s size and location?

Idk. But a lot of Caribbean islands with large sandy beaches and structures already on them sell for just a few million – but they’re an hour boat trip into the ocean, while this little blip is only about a quarter-mile off the shore of Marathon, Fla.

So I suppose the appeal is privacy without being too far away (less than a mile) from the continental United States. The home is built onto a coral reef and sits 15 feet above the “blue, blue sea, offering 360-degree views”. It has a dock and a helipad, though they both seem like a hassle for a place that is just a quarter mile away from shore unless there is a helicopter docking station and/or a marina nearby. The best setup would be to own one of the houses on the coast nearby and then just boat out to your private island party-house (or guest-house to keep your in-laws at a pleasant distance?). Ug. alright. fine… I’ll take it.

Oklahoma Governor has Oklahoma Shaped Pool

Most people have swimming pools shaped like Kansas and a select few mansions will have a nice infinity or swim-up-bar outfitted pool in the shape of California, but the Governor of Oklahoma as an Oklahoma shaped one, and that’s pretty kickass.

Here’s a night picture taken on the ground and for the opposite angle: Google Earths view of this token exercise in awesomery and reveals that the pan handle appears to be either a long jacuzzi or an endless pool for doing laps without the “doing laps” part. It’s also strange that the driveway to the mansion doesn’t even seem to be gated. You just take a turn off the street and you’re IN. Oklahoma is awesome now.

The Evolution of the College Dorm

Time mag has this interesting photo essay that covers college campuseses (campi?) from the cinder block 30’s where the male dorm would communicate with the segregate chicks through light flashing morse code to the campus of today that features Coldstone Creameries, 7/11’s and rock climbing…
Here are the 3 best from the 15 picture slideshow:

The 1950s and 60s saw a surge in political and civil rights debates in America, with the college campus taking center stage in the debate over equality. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined his plans for affirmative action during a graduation speech at the historically all-black Howard University, above. Meanwhile, massive state and federal spending sparked a boom in dorm construction, as minorities and disadvantaged students began flocking to campuses nationwide. In 1958, the University of California’s nine campuses could house only 2,900 students; by 1970, they had residential space for nearly 20,000.

campus pool

Though La Vista del Campo Norte seems at first glance more like a hotel than a dorm, Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus Communities, says these buildings aren’t just real estate opportunities: “Our properties are not Animal House. There are no kegs out by the pool.” Nowadays, students demand privacy, technology and the same amenities they grew up with, he says. “It’s what the student expects when they leave Mom and Dad’s.”

farm campus

Not everyone agrees with the luxury-dorm fad. At Berea College in Kentucky, school administrators have adopted a unique approach to the problem of strangled budgets and coddled kids: Dorms are furnished by the college crafts workshops, cafeteria food is provided by the school’s farm, and students are required to work 10 hours a week in various campus jobs. “It’s about identity and the culture you want to develop,” says Gus Gerassimides, the college’s assistant vice president for student life. “Ultimately every community has choices to make. It’s who you choose to be.”