A rendering of 37 Indian Creek in Miami Beach, FL.
Despite only having a few dozen homes, Miami’s Indian Creek Village is a separate municipality with its own mayor and local government.
Google Maps
Source: Florida State Government
In 1939, the Florida legislature incorporated Indian Creek under a now-defunct law that allowed 25 or more neighbors to form a town.A man rows past Indian Creek homes.
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: Florida State Government
Today, the man-made island is home to celebrities, including Ivanka Trump and Tom Brady.
Todd Michael Glaser/Dina Goldentayer ᐧ
Indian Creek is the most expensive city in the US, according to 2021 data from Zillow. In 2019, a 10-bedroom mansion sold for a record-breaking $50 million.
Todd Michael Glaser/Dina Goldentayer
Source: Zillow, Insider
To enter the island, your need to be a resident or have your name put on a verified visitor’s list. At the gate, security scanned my Uber driver’s license before letting us through.
Hannah Towey/Insider
The island’s one entrance is heavily guarded, with the Indian Creek Village Police headquarters immediately to the left.
Hannah Towey/Insider
13 full-time police officers secure the island by land and sea.
Hannah Towey/Insider
I was also told there had been discussion of implementing a laser beam security system around the island’s coast to prevent any water-bound intruders.
Hannah Towey/Insider
My Uber driver dropped me off on the other side of the bridge. While waiting for Dina Goldentayer, the realtor giving me the tour, a policeman stopped to ask who I was waiting for.
Hannah Towey/Insider
As I wandered around, the only other people I saw on the streets were construction workers. Several homes, including a mansion Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner purchased last year for $24 million, were under construction.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: New York Post
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, who recently divorced, paid $17 million for a home they demolished in order to build an “eco-mansion,” Page Six first reported.Construction of the mansion appeared to remain underway, despite reports that the couple had paused the project.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: Insider
A total of 41 property lots are wrapped around the Indian Creek Golf Club at the center of the 300-acre island, meaning every home has water views.
Todd Michael Glaser/Dina Goldentayer
After meeting up with Goldentayer, we drove around the eerily-quiet neighborhood.
Hannah Towey/Insider
The median listing price on Indian Creek is $21.2 million, according to Realtor.com.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: Realtor.com
37 Indian Creek Road, Goldentayer’s listing, was put on the market for $59 million in May. Originally, the property’s developer, Todd Michael Glaser, said he would accept offers in bitcoin.
Todd Michael Glaser/Dina Goldentayer
Source: Insider
The home is currently off-market, but will be re-listed once construction is complete, Goldentayer said. Following the collapse of FTX, they no longer plan to accept payment in cryptocurrency, she told Insider.
Todd Michael Glaser/Dina Goldentayer
One of the more surprising details I learned during the tour was that purchasing property in Indian Creek does not guarantee admittance into the neighborhood’s ultra-exclusive golf club.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were told by local residents they “need not apply” to the club after buying their $30 million Indian Creek home, according to Page Six.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: Page Six
In the early 2000s, the country club was accused of discriminating against Black and Jewish residents, local outlets reported. The club denies the allegations.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: Orlando Sentinel (2000), Wall Street Journal
Beyond the club, not much else is on the island. Indian Creek Road is the neighborhood’s single street — and it’s a dead end.
Hannah Towey/Insider
“There’s no action here,” Goldentayer joked. “But you’re 10 minutes from the action.”
Hannah Towey/Insider
Most of the homes had private docks. But unlike other high-end Miami neighborhoods, there’s no direct beach access.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Some residents own or rent additional properties on Miami’s mainland, Goldentayer said, like Ivanka and Jared’s $18.8 million rental condo in nearby Surfside.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: New York Post
Other notable residents on the island have included Wall Street tycoon Carl Icahn, supermodel Adriana Lima, and singer Julio Iglesias.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Source: Insider
Privacy was obviously top-of-mind for the billionaire residents. Some mansions were especially well-hidden from the street.
Hannah Towey/Insider
Combined with the over-the-top security measures, this “quintessential privacy” is what makes high-profile names so attracted to the community, according to Goldentayer. By the end of the tour, it was more than clear why the neighborhood is likened to a bunker.
Hannah Towey/Insider
