Sylvester Stallone wants an unusual home addition and neighbors feel blindsided: You cant just stake your claim
Sylvester Stallone has ruffled feathers in Palm Beach with a controversial proposal to install a floating barrier in the Intracoastal Waterway near his $35 million estate.The project, pitched as a way to keep seaweed and debris at bay, is facing fierce opposition from neighbors who accuse the action star of trying to privatize public waterways and jeopardize local wildlife.
Stallone’s sprawling property, bought in December 2020 for $35.37 million under the Southpaw Trust, boasts a two-story mansion, a guesthouse, a pool pavilion and a private 262-foot beachfront.The estate is situated on the North End of Palm Beach, a tranquil area popular with boaters, kayakers and paddle boarders.
According to documents submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Army Corps of Engineers, Stallone wants to construct an “L-shaped” floating barrier, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.Stretching 191 feet southward from the dock and turning 50 feet toward the shore, the barrier would rise 8 inches above water and sink 10 inches below, anchored by nylon ropes and six submerged piles.
The structure, as described by project engineers, would block seaweed and debris while allowing marine life to pass underneath.But the fine print tells a different story.
The Army Corps’ public notice explicitly states the project’s main objective is “to exclude boaters” from approaching the estate, with seaweed cited as a secondary concern.This revelation has angered Stallone’s neighbors, who were caught off guard by the proposal.
“A lot of neighbors are concerned,” Bradford Gary told the Daily News, who, with his wife Susan, lives nearby.“Usually when your neighbors are gonna do something, we’ve found in Palm Beach, usually they call.” The Garys were stunned to receive the DEP’s notice, giving them until Christmas Day to submit formal objections.
“He bought a beautiful property,” Bradford said of Stallone’s estate, calling it “...