By Robyn A. Friedman
South Florida Sun Sentinel
May 27, 2021 6:00 AM
A 20,590-square-foot Mediterranean estate in Palm Beach Gardens that evokes the Old-World design and style of stately European mansions has been listed for $12.5 million.
Located at 12236 Tillinghast Circle, the mansion sits on a one-acre lot in Old Palm Golf Club, an exclusive golf and country club that is also home to a number of professional golfers and business executives, including Greg Norman, the former top-ranked golfer in the world and an Australian entrepreneur, and Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of professional golfer Tiger Woods.
“Old Palm Golf Club is a prestigious golf-club community,” said Senada Adzem, executive director of luxury sales at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Boca Raton, who holds the listing. “It’s very sophisticated, lushly landscaped and it has high security.”
The two-story estate, built in 2011, has five bedrooms and seven baths and overlooks the 16th hole of the championship golf course at Old Palm. Interior features include a den/library/office, family room, two kitchens, a Florida room, home theater, elevator and fireplaces.
Its ornate finishes and artistic detailing make the mansion stand out from other, more contemporary, South Florida homes, but Adzem considers that to be an advantage.
“I know the buyer will be someone who loves this house exactly the way it is,” she said. “The home is very congruent in terms of its architecture and design — it’s authentic Mizner-style architecture. The phone calls I’ve received are mostly from European and Middle Eastern families, who love over-the-top finishes.”
Tthe late Fernando M. Cafua, and his wife Gilda S. Cafua purchased the land in November 2006 for $1.1 million, public records show. They custom-built the home. Fernando Cafua, who passed away in 2019, was co-founder of Cafua Management Co., which, according to the company’s website, is the largest private Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee in the United States, with locations in seven states.
“What I love about this house is that the Cafua family, who immigrated from Portugal, built their palatial dream home,” Adzem. “They traveled the world in search of very unique materials — there are materials from 10 different countries that they personally sourced — and they took a lot of time and effort to make this home.”
