Historic Casa Rio estate for sale

Courtesy PHOTO An aerial view of the 1926-built estate called Casa Rio. The property has recently been listed for sale with an asking price of $5.1 million. Special to Florida Weekly

The historic riverfront estate Casa Rio - built in 1926 by inventor C.W. Stribley next to the Henry Ford estate in downtown Fort Myers - is for sale.

More than $2 million has been spent to renovate the Mediterranean-style home that was last sold in 2001. The home was once the center of controversy when its owners, in the 1960s, once considered tearing it down to make way for a high-rise. However, neighbors banded together to save the property.

McMurray & Nette VIP Realty Group, Inc., recently listed the home for $5.1 million.

"This home is a part of Fort Myers' rich past and an opportunity to own such a piece of history does not come along very often," said Mike McMurray, managing partner of McMurray & Nette.

Paper mill owner C. W. Stribley originally built the home in 1926. Like his famous neighbors and friends Edison and Ford, Stribley was also an inventor and perfected the process of making wax paper along with a water marking process for checks. Since the late 1930s, the estate designed by architects Van Ryn & De Gilleke has been known as Casa Rio.

The two-story Mission Spanish Colonial revival-style home is a tribute to an earlier era. The stucco exterior is highlighted by arches, parapets, and bell towers. The interior includes over 5,000 square-feet of living area featuring five bedrooms, fourand a-half-baths and seven fireplaces. The interior features also include original crosssawn heart-of-pine floors and 9 ½-foot ceilings. The home is situated on 2.3 acres overlooking the Caloosahatchee River. An electronic wrought-iron looking gate stands at the home's entrance off McGregor Boulevard leading along a 400-foot driveway lined with stately royal palms and ancient mahogany trees. A wrap-around veranda and sundeck graces the second level overlooking the 55-foot swimming pool, back lawn and river. An unusual exterior feature includes a circular boat pool along the 180 feet of river frontage. Of historical note, the sea wall that protects the home was built with the assistance of the first steam dredge. The steam dredge was built by pioneer boat builder J.L. Lofton who named it after his best friend, C. W. Stribley.

Stribley kept exacting financial records while building the home that are documented in a journal still intact today. According to the journal, the cost of the house was $171,968.27.

Casa Rio's current owner, Dallas businessman John Carbona, has spent years and his own personal fortune restoring the home to its original glory. A dedicated preservationist, Carbona is also an inventor who has held or co-held six patents and 21 Trademarks.

"John practically rebuilt the entire house from the inside out," added Trevor Nette, managing partner of McMurray & Nette. "Anything that was failing in the home from years of wear and tear - from the plumbing and electrical to the original walls - were replaced according to John's supervision to bring the home up to modern standards and luxury, yet at the same time respect the home's historical integrity."

Improvements and additions made by Carbona include a new roof, outdoor cabana with kitchen and bathroom, new salt water pool with disappearing edge, landscape irrigation, new dock, all new plumbing including a commercial lift station, new HVAC and a new electrical system including the addition of Cat 5 cable. He also converted to outdoor underground utilities and added a natural gas storage tank for the kitchen stove.

"This house is in perfect condition and no expense was spared," Carbona said. "The wood we used to rebuild failing structural areas is called Paulope, a very dense and heavy hardwood imported from South America that resists checking, cracking, splitting, is durable, long lasting and is insect, decay and fire resistant."

In 1996, the home was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places and today has a bronze plaque adorning the home's entrance marking the achievement. Casa Rio has also received a historic designation from the City of Fort Myers.

McMurray & Nette is a residential real estate firm representing buyers and sellers of luxury properties throughout Southwest Florida including Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples and the islands of Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers Beach. During the first two quarters of 2007, the firm has closed over $100 million in residential real estate transactions. n