A call for offers has ended for property owned by the Donahue family

The chance to buy 70 acres of beachfront property on Keewaydin Island and Gordon Pointe in Naples has generated interest from buyers near and far.

On Tuesday the call for offers ended, with prospective buyers still touring the property as the 5 p.m. deadline loomed. Going through those offers will take time, but a closing could happen within a few months, said Robert McEwan, one of two CBRE agents marketing the property.

"We've had over 20 tours and multiple offers," he said.

Offers have come from local, national and international buyers. Interested buyers include real estate investors, developers and the wealthy who want the property for their own enjoyment.

"More than likely we will choose the best offers and ask for a best and final offer within the next two weeks," said McEwan, a commercial real estate broker and land specialist based in Orlando.

The property is owned by John "Jack" Donahue and his wife, Rhodora, who will keep their residences at 100 and 104 Bay Road, where Gordon Drive meets the inlet, but have put their other nearby real estate holdings up for sale.

"It's just a very high profile, unique property, so the interest has been the most I've ever seen on a property," said McEwan, who has been in the real estate business for 30 years.

Previous coverage of Keewaydin Island and Gordon Pointe:

• Naples family might sell 70 'amazing and unique' acres that include beach
• Revised plan for dock near Gordon Pass calls for digging new canal
• Biden family buys Naples Keewaydin Island home, acreage
• Private boat basin in Naples Bay near Gordon Pass wins City Council approval

Some of the interested buyers want pieces of the property, while others want it all. The Donahue family's preference is to sell everything included in their 62-page confidential offering memo to one buyer.

"It's a little bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and that is why it takes time to sort through the offers and review with the family and decide what the best way to go is," McEwan said.

The holdings comprise property the Donahues have acquired over more than 40 years, beginning with a home off Gordon Drive in the posh area of Port Royal along the Gulf of Mexico.

The offering includes:

» ready-to-build lots on the northern tip of Keewaydin;

» a lounge for arriving and departing guests on the island;

» a 4,700-square-foot lodge;

» a beachfront single-family estate stretching nearly 16,000 square feet;

» tennis courts;

» a helicopter landing pad. (If you don't have a helicopter, the only way to get to the island is by boat.)

Gordon Pointe's three undeveloped lots are up for sale, along with a waterfront home and personal yacht basin on Gordon Pass, which can accommodate a 200-foot yacht or three yachts up to 75 feet. Also up for grabs is the Bay Marina off U.S. 41 in Naples.

The Donahue family decided "the time is right to further diversify its investment portfolio," according to their listing agents.

A well-known Naples philanthropist, Jack Donahue made his fortune running Pittsburgh-based Federated Investors (he is a co-founder and still serves as chairman emeritus). Founded in 1955, the investment management firm has $364.1 billion of customer assets under its control.

The property is being marketed "as is" and as it's zoned. Up to 16 homes could be built on the undeveloped lots on Keewaydin.

Although the offering is unpriced, some have speculated it could sell for $100 million to $150 million to the right buyer.

"With the offers to date, we fully expect it to meet or exceed the family's pricing expectations," McEwan said.

About 85 percent of Keewaydin Island is government-owned, protecting most of it from development — and making the Donahue family's property on the northern end of the island all the more exclusive and attractive to buyers.

Decades ago the potential for commercialization of the northern end of Keewaydin faced strong opposition, leading to settlement agreements that prevent commercial development and limit residential development to no more than 20 single-family homes, said Andy Deane, president of the Port Royal Property Owners' Association, in a recent letter addressing concerns about the future of the island.

More development on the island would have meant more traffic in Port Royal, with more people accessing the remote island by boat from the neighborhood.That's why the community united to fight commercial growth so many years ago.

"Though the northern part of Keewaydin Island is for sale today, we as Neapolitans should be reassured that the careful and strategic efforts set forth in prior years have protected this land in perpetuity and should feel comfortable that the integrity of our pristine, primitive island of Keewaydin will be maintained and uncompromised," Deane said.