‘Idyllic’ private island on edge of San Francisco Bay on sale for $75 million

A small private island on the fringes of San Francisco Bay went up for sale this week for the pretty price of $75 million.

Billed as a “great escape for sports gatherings or corporate events,” the roughly 50-acre plot, largely undeveloped with big bay views and assured solitude, is one of the few islands in the Bay Area not owned and protected by the state or federal government.

Known as Point Buckler Island, the private property sits in the brackish waters of Suisun Marsh, just east of the Carquinez Strait where the San Francisco Bay quietly transitions into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The area is popular with kiteboarders and wildlife watchers.

“It’s an idyllic site,” said Marianne Bordogna, the listing agent with Keller Williams Realty. “If someone just wanted to have their own island and get away from everyone else, it’s a beautiful place.”

The property, though, does have limitations. First off, you have to have a boat or helicopter to get there. (The island is equipped with two helipads and a 400-foot deep-water dock.)

Also, what can be built there, if anything more, remains to be seen. The owner, John Sweeney, who ran a private kiteboarding outfit on the island, got into trouble with state and federal regulators a few years ago when he began fixing old levees in an effort to develop his club. Officials said the work interfered with tidal flows and wildlife habitat, which Sweeney denies.

The kiteboarding operation didn’t evolve beyond large shipping containers and built-up patios that served as lounges and guest quarters.

The property is zoned MP1, or marsh preserve 1, according to the real estate company, which says it could allow for the construction of at least one home, contingent on resolving issues with the levees.

Sweeney said he’s selling the island because he ran out of money to clear up the situation with the levees. He estimates that the work he did on the levees cost him $9 million in fines.

“A wealthy person could craft a deal (to remedy the regulatory problem),” Sweeney said.

Sweeney bought the parcel in 2011 for $150,000. The island had long existed as a duck-hunting club before that.

Bordogna said the “small universe of people” who will see huge opportunity in the property might include a well-heeled kiteboarder or another water enthusiast.

The property listing also notes that the island is near the mega-development proposed by Flannery Associates, the high-profile group of Silicon Valley investors hoping to build a new city on agricultural land in Solano County.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Bordogna said. “I mean when do you get a chance to buy a private island?”

  Ref: ‘Idyllic’ private island on edge of San Francisco Bay on sale for $75 million (sfchronicle)