HOMES OF THE TREASURE COAST
around the pool. Landscaping offers privacy from the buildings
22
on either side.
Bob Halgas and his wife, Sherri, have owned 26 homes in
their 20 years of marriage, but they always looked at each
prospective home together. Halgas had seen La Rotunda and
decided to look at it again after the hurricanes of 2004. He
called Sherri in New Jersey and said he liked the home.
“Normally Sherri is involved, but she trusts my judgment,”
Halgas said. “She said, ‘If you like it, buy it.’ ”
Halgas owns a block of businesses in New Jersey and is a
Florida-based contractor with utilities and telecommunications
operations around the country.
“When it was still for sale, I wanted to see what the house
looked like,” Halgas said. “After the hurricanes, Sailfish Point
was an island for six months. The roof lost two tiles. A lot of
work went into this house. It is like a fortress. It was built
with a lot of care. The high ceilings and crown moldings are
over the top. The architecture is the Palm Beach-Flagler style.
It is timeless. Mediterranean never goes out of style.”
“La Rotunda is built like a bunker,” said Miami architect
Jorge Esteban, who has designed more than 100 high-end
homes in South Florida. “The pilings, the structural slabs, the
floors, the stairs and the dome itself are all poured concrete.”
SPECTACULAR VIEWS
The couple spent more than $500,000 personalizing the
home with new paint, carpet, countertops and wall hangings.
“The minute we walked into the house it was in perfect
shape,” Halgas said.” We flew in a decorator from Philadelphia
and let him run amok.” The island theme is everywhere,
an extension of the outside palm trees and ocean vistas. >>
With their children grown and gone from home, Bob and Sherri Halgas are
moving to a house on a lake in Palm City.