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Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty admires a very fine house in a commanding position on Lake Boca Raton in Florida. It is on the market with Boca Raton specialists, Premier Estate Properties.

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding’s classic R & B number, was written on a houseboat at Sausalito, the lovely arty village just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. I knew the number decades before I knew Sausalito and always wondered what it all meant. But now I can’t help thinking if Redding had been in Boca Raton, Florida instead, and sitting overlooking Lake Boca Raton at 700 Lake Drive, he might have had some of the same inspiration. It is hard not to think of this splendid waterside estate as being the dock of the bay. The house and garden dominate the lake, which provides an attractive watery thoroughfare to the ocean and to the extensive Intracoastal waterway.

This house is for owners who are serious about real estate, serious about water and serious about Boca Raton. If many of the neighbouring super-homes in the area can be likened to Ferraris this home would be a Bugatti.

The 2.5-acre estate enjoys a corner position that overlooks the lake with about 450 ft of deepwater frontage and great views. Over the water is the exclusive Boca Raton Resort & Club. You’ll want to be a member. More importantly, they will, no doubt, want you to be a member. It’s not just anybody who gets to live at 700 Lake Drive.

This classic Palm Beach-inspired main house is in the tropical Georgian style. The luxury 17,000 sq ft residence offers seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two-storey high living room, family room, panelled library, banquet-sized dining room, bar and gourmet kitchen. The floors are served with an elevator.

Away from the main house are beautifully landscaped grounds and lush tropical gardens with tall hedges and palm trees. For entertainment there is a pavilion and formal terraced pool and spa and additional catering kitchen. For yachting there is multi-yacht dockage with finger dock and boat slip. For motoring there are two garages to accommodate five cars and a formal brick-laid motor court. For help there is a staff apartment/carriage house and for guests there is a guesthouse. Security is well taken care of. The estate is walled and gated for maximum seclusion and safety.

Close to beautiful beaches, fine shops, restaurants, and the Boca Raton Executive Airport, 700 Lake Drive is not just sittin’ on the dock of the bay. It’s sittin’ pretty.