Starfish mansion sold
The highest-priced villa ever listed for sale on St. John will have a new owner soon. Cliff House, a sprawling 5 bedroom manse in Peter Bay complete with its own gym and a Queen Mary pool deck, is under contract, according to several sources, not the least of which is a big old front page story in the Tradewinds which pretty much makes it official. Cliff House was most recently listed at just under $13 million. Its owner for the last decade has been Starfish Market owner David Mugar. (What, you thought the owner of Starfish Market lived in a lean-to?) You can see it from Cinnamon Bay. It’s the big, pinkish house above Ritchie Rich’s place.
Don’t stop buying lottery tickets yet. There are still 10 or so houses on the market in the $5 to $10 million range.
So who bought it? All we can say is it was NOT Brad and Angelina. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…them…him…her.
February 1st, 2007 00:44
Well I guess if the owner of Starfish had to pay his own retail prices he couldn’t afford anything more than a week at Maho Camp grounds let alone the Peter Bay house.
February 1st, 2007 07:42
In addition to the Starfish, David Mugar owns the Star Market chain in the Boston area. He also pays for the fireworks display ($1,000,000) that is held annually in Boston to celebrate the 4th of July.
February 1st, 2007 08:08
Guess the secret’s out that I’m going to be spending a LOT more time on island
HA! Riiiiiiiiiiiiight…….
do you think it will be on the rental market
February 1st, 2007 11:53
One positive thing about Mugar….after Hurricane Marilyn he shipped a container of generators down to St. John and sold them at cost.
February 1st, 2007 13:29
Why is it that we’re so interested in the largest, most expensive, juciest information like this? I’m guilty myself, but I’m also irritated at myself because I take time to read about it.
February 1st, 2007 22:19
I grew up on the Northshore of Chicago and left there just as soon as I could because it seemed to be all about who had the most.
I love STJ…but not this aspect of it.
February 2nd, 2007 02:12
Ok, Ok, I may have trashed David, what’s his name about owning Starfish and selling out. I really respect anyone who took a chance on St. John and made a pile of money - he deserves it.
Hey David, “I appreciate the wine, did I say what you wanted me to say?” Can I now stay at your new house at St. Barts?
February 2nd, 2007 19:37
Why is everyone always bashing this guy? I know he didn’t make his “pile of money” on St. John. In fact, I doubt if Starfish would be there for us at all if Mr. Mugar didn’t have substantial resources behind him already when he saw a need and opened a business here years ago.
I was at Starfish one time a few years ago and he was was walking around with this HUGE printout, picking items up off the shelf and then looking them up in this big pile of paper.
I had to ask. “What are you doing?”
He said he was comparing prices at Starfish St. John with a Star Market in Mass.
“We’re really not doing that badly, all things considered,” he said. Merchants here fight the costs of shipping every day and in my opinion he cares about what the consumer is paying.
Mr. Mugar invested a lot in St. John and he did a lot for the community.
I wonder who bought his house?