Sharon Day, U.S. envoy to Costa Rica, lists L’Hermitage penthouse in Fort Lauderdale for $5.225 million

June 29--Sharon Day, the Republican Party activist who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica last year, has listed her 28th-floor penthouse at the oceanfront L'Hermitage in Fort Lauderdale for $5.225 million.

Her diplomatic duties in San Jose largely drove her decision to sell the sprawling residence, which covers 6,627 square feet and boasts spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and city from six balconies, said Sherri Pfefer, an agent for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, which holds the listing.

Day was sworn in as ambassador in September. She became a nominee for the post after more than two decades as a Republican Party advocate who threw her unqualified support behind the presidential candidacy of Donald J. Trump. A former Republican National Committee chairwoman, Day spoke at the 2016 GOP national convention in Cleveland. Previously, she spent more than 20 years serving the party at the local, state and national levels.

Locally, she served as chair of the Broward County Housing Authority and was a commissioner on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.

A widow with two grown children and five grandchildren, the penthouse became too large for one person, Pfefer said.

She said Day and her late husband, Larry, were the original occupants of the penthouse, which they acquired in late 1997 at the pre-construction price of $1.655 million. They folded three units into one and moved in a year later, Pfefer said. The couple had previously built an insurance and reinsurance business from three employees to 156 in Indianapolis. They sold the business and retired early to South Florida in the 1990s, according to a Sun Sentinel profile.

"They created this space to entertain," Pfefer said. "While there are other penthouses, hers is quite different."

The walls are curved so Day could display her art collection -- gallery-style -- all around the residence. An elevator is in the middle of the penthouse. There are two kitchens: one in the back and one in the front.

Located at the end of East Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale at 3100 N. Ocean Blvd., L'Hermitage is a twin-tower complex that anchors the southern end of the city's venerable Galt Ocean Mile.

The penthouse sits atop L'Hermitage I, the southern tower of the complex. The residence has four bedrooms, four full and two partial bathrooms. It also boasts two offices, a "master retreat" area with wet bar, roman tub, dual vanities and his-and-hers-walk-in closets. Commanding views of the Atlantic and the city can be had from any one of the unit's six balconies.

L'Hermitage residents have easy walking access to the beach. Inside the gated complex, they can avail themselves of two tennis courts, pools, saunas, a cafe, concierge, valet and fitness center.

Pfefer said the penthouse was previously placed on the market in January, but removed in May. Coldwell Banker picked up the listing this month.

Who would move into such a customized, expansive pad?

"It depends on someone's lifestyle," Pfefer said. It might well serve as a good second or third residence, she suggested, "where families come down and can relax and have a vacation."

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David Lyons can be reached at 954-356-4340, dvlyons@sun-sentinel.com twitter: @davidvlyons

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