2658 Gordon Drive (Naples, Florida)

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2658 Gordon Drive goo.gl/maps/ZmDcD is the sixth house north of the Port Royal Club, built in the 1940s it looks as though it could be a guest house of one of the adjacent estates. That being said, the value of this property has increased almost 30-fold since 1985.

www.naplesnews.com/photos/galleries/2013/oct/17/million...
www.zillow.com/homedetails/2658-Gordon-Dr-Naples-FL-341...

The new owner, who paid $30 million for this property, will be using Naples ultra lux builder Newbury North Associates Inc to build a new home. The listing brochure stated that the 3+ acre property comes with plans for a 19,000 sq ft house "affording the new owner a once in a lifetime opportunity to build their own 'magnum opus' of world-class estates". It is not uncommon for homes of that size to take two or more years to complete with costs that can run into the tens of millions.

Richard M Schulze, 72 is co-founder of Best Buy. He owns 21% of the company and was appointed Chairman emeritus in early 2013. Best Buy has a market cap of $14 billion. Schulze currently owns two homes in Bonita Springs (just north of Naples), a 5,000 sq ft unit at the Azure condominium as well as a 23,000 sq ft home just down the road in the Baywoods section of the Bonita Bay development ( florida-house-values.findthedata.org/l/3653300/26331-Wo... Schulze also has a home in Edina, Minnesota. binged.it/16jsrz2

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=754895041193226&set=a.1...
www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/oct/17/naples-beachfront-p...

Richard M. Schulze is one of America's great philanthropists with plans to expand funding of his family's foundation to $1 billion:
www.schulzefamilyfoundation.org
www.startribune.com/business/211919851.html

More on Richard M Schulze

investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/perso...
www.forbes.com/profile/richard-schulze/.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-26/best-buy-founder-schu...
minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/03/25/schulze-returns-to-be...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Schulze
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB125374310564235469

Mr. Schulze talks about Best Buy in this video -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPtkMxalC-A

www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/richard-s...

The previous owner of 2658 Gordon Drive is Randal D Bellestri who purchased it in 2011 for $25 million and with no changes made to the property re-sold it in 2013 for $30 million to Mr. Schulze. Mr. Bellestri lives just a few houses to the south at 3100 Gordon Drive and has been very active in the Port Royal Real Estate market buying and selling properties in recent years. Bellestri's background is in the Aerospace industry, in 2008 he sold two companies that he founded for more than $300 million. ( www.reuters.com/article/2008/05/02/us-hampson-idUSL0214... )

Mr. Belestri purchased 2658 Gordon from one of Naples most famous residents, Peter Thomas and his wife Stella, who in 1985 paid approx $1 million. Thomas had purchased the property from the estate of Buffalo, NY businessman, Raymond T Jones who purchased the property in the forties and built the house that will soon be razed. www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/raymondtjones.html and www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/rtjonesgal-2.html

More on Peter Thomas

The house that Peter and Stella Thomas called home for almost 30 years is small by Gordon Drive standards but for many who admire the estates along Gordon Drive it is a favorite. There are no 40 foot hedges or 12 foot iron gates, instead it is more of an open park like setting featuring towering trees and lush lawns graced by a winding driveway leading down to the Gulf of Mexico and the charming 1940s era home built by the former owner. There is likely not a person in America who has not heard the voice of Mr. Thomas who is an Oscar winning narrator and voice-over artist.

Peter Thomas is a native Floridian and with his wife continue to be active in the Naples Community and local and national charities. A veteran of WWII, he received many medals and awards and was awarded the prestigious Legion of Honor from the French Government.

Here is a small sampling of the hundreds of links that enumerate the career of Mr. Thomas and the contributions he and his wife have made to our community.

Peter Thomas Memorial Day (2013) address in Washington DC www.naplesnews.com/videos/detail/peter-thomas-gives-mem...

www.setanchor.com/news/2011/apr/21/peter-thomas-and-bri...
peterthomasjr.com/about
www.facebook.com/PeterThomasNarrator‎
peterthomashistoryfairfund.org/‎
www.forensicfiles.com/peter-thomas‎
prosportsgroup.com/sports-agent-news/nfl-naples-thomas-...
www.jrn.com/fox4now/news/208862871.html
www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2013-03-07/20-World-War-...

Peter Thomas IMDB

www.imdb.com/name/nm0859354/
www.imdb.com/name/nm0859354/bio

Video:

Studio 55 Peter Thomas Interview
www.naplesnews.com/videos/detail/studio_55_peter_thomas...

I love Peter Thomas, the show narrator
boards.trutv.com/showthread.php?1921-I-love-Peter-Thoma...

The Christmas Story narrated by Peter Thomas

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU71QQD-AL8

Interview with Peter Thomas
hurricane2015.com/videos/detail/studio_55_peter_thomas_...