Perennial NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudamire has returned to his Florida roots in a big way. In October, the New York Knick closed on a massive, custom home in Southwest Ranches, a posh suburb west of the Atlantic Coast city of Ft. Lauderdale.
The $3.7 million property came at a nice discount, since the 14,555-sq ft ranch was originally listed for $4.65 million. It’s no surprise that this business-savvy player was able to score a sweet deal. In addition to his hoops career, Stoudamire has kicked off a fashion line with designer Rachel Roy.
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A native of Lake Wales in the north central part of Florida, the 6-10-foot Stoudamire was the only high school player taken in the 2002 NBA draft. That landed the power forward in Phoenix, where he quickly dispelled any notion that teenagers could not make it in the NBA.
In 2010, the free agent signed a deal with the Knicks, taking up residence in a nifty rental at 99 Jane Street — an exclusive West Village condo building.
That $37,500-a-month rental was another real estate coup for Stoudamire, who benefitted from the condo board at 99 Jane’s decision to not renew the lease of a Goldman Sachs exec, Richard Kimball Jr.
So with his Big Apple digs set up, Stoudamire turned his attention to a new home closer to his native home in Florida. The new crib in Southwest Ranches has 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, a 9-car garage, and it sits on a private and well landscaped 2.35 acres.
The home has the kind of smart taste fit for a fashionable 28-year old: Expansive foyer entry, private office, a movie theater, game room with wet bar, plus an additional wet bar. Best of all, in addition to the sumptuous indoor kitchen, there’s a second kitchen to make poolside munching happen in a snap.
There are marble floors throughout, custom coffered ceilings and built-ins, and a huge vacation retreat-style outdoor pool with connecting hot tub that’s surrounded by palm trees, a huge pool deck, and covered outdoor eating space.
While Stoudamire has set up house in New York and Florida, he’s still looking to sell his luxury condo in Phoenix, which has been on the market since March 2008.
Built in 2003, Stoudamire’s Esplanade unit is an immense 3,000 sq ft, with 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and upgraded with top-of-the-line finishes throughout: great room, gourmet eat-in kitchen, custom cabinetry, granite counter tops, private guest suite with its own separate entrance, and a massive master suite with sitting room and expansive mountain views.
Stoudamire has dropped the price of the unit five times over the past three years to its current list price of $1.375 million. He bought it in 2006 for $1.775 million.
Not that the good-natured Stoudamire is in desperate need of cash. The NBA season is set to resume later this month after a prolonged lockout, assuring those big paychecks will flow again.
Meanwhile, the “joblessness” Stoudamire experienced prompted the six-time All-Star to try and find a new line of work, or at least pretend to. In helping to promote his new line of Nike sneakers, Stoudamire “applied” for a job at Foot Locker, where a week’s pay would not cover all the sneakers he had in his cart.
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