As Celine Dion is busy promoting her new documentary Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, the world is getting a glimpse of her 9,825-square-foot home on Jupiter Island, Fla., and realizing just how much home fame and wealth can buy. A pajama-clad Dion who claims she doesn't get a lot of "me time" recently let Oprah's cameras into her home (after People did so in its January issue) to introduce everyone to her four-month-old fraternal twin sons, Eddy and Nelson, who join 9-year-old brother Rene-Charles, namesake of her hubby Rene Angelil, 69.
Peeking in the home, viewers see a mass of white. White walls. White floors. White cabinets. White sofas. White decor. The Daily Mail points out that this is not the most suitable color for small children. (See photo gallery.)
But area real estate agent Jeff Lichtenstein of Illustrated Properties tells AOL Real Estate that what's going on in the backyard of the 42-year-old singer is what has eyes bulging and mouths agape.
The backyard sports a water park with a 500,000-gallon pool system. It features water slides and a lazy river, but no baby gate. So when Nelson and Eddy start to crawl and toddle, they will keep parents, big brother, and nannies hopping.
Dion had to have six wells drilled on site to help supply the home. Back in 2008 she was criticized by neighbors as being a "water hog," as she was one of the top water users in the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County region -- and that was just during the construction.
"In a year, the property used about 6.5 million gallons of water, or enough to fill a 50-gallon bathtub about every four minutes," the Huffington Post reported at the time. A broken water line, however, was said to be the cause of the excess water use, reported TCPalm.com.
Also on the is a tennis court, underground garage and a beachside cabana. "And this is no teeny cabana: Inside is a gym, so that workouts can be accompanied by crashing waves and a gorgeous sunrise," reported our sister site Shelterpop.
Although the home now sits empty (except for maybe hired help) as Dion and family (presumably including her sister and mother who live with her to help take care of the babies) returned last
In 2005 Dion purchased the 5.7-acre Jupiter Island property at 215 South Beach Road for $12.5 million through her Montreal company Renlec Management. "The property originally had a two-story home, which was promptly demolished," says Lichtenstein.
She spent several years constructing the massive six-bedroom, eight-bath Bermuda-style white mansion, which was completed in Summer 2010 ahead of the arrival of her in vitro-fertilized babies. There are six structures on the white-picket-fenced property altogether, including three separate guest homes and a plethora of octagonal-shaped gazebos.
"At one point Celine wanted to build a music studio but was turned down by the town because residents are not allowed to build work facilities on Jupiter Island," says Lichtenstein, who jokes "although one wonders how neighbor Tiger Woods got away with building his practice golf course, since we know he doesn't use that for play." (See our article: "Tiger's Jupiter Island Estate Revealed.")
The original 6,859-square-foot home that Dion purchased was built in 1963, had four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a 1,700-square-foot guest house built in 1985. But Dion built bigger. One of her guest houses alone, at 6,740-square feet, is about the size of the former main house.
County tax records pulled by Lichtenstein show that the home is value at $16,856,700, although others suspect market value would be closer to $20 million. The amount of annual property taxes? A whopping $285,864. But heck, she qualifies for a $11,434 discount if she makes the payment early. That savings could pay for a lot of diapers, as well as a couple of sofa cleanings.
Sheree R. Curry, who has owned three homes but never one with a swimming pool, is a three-time award-winning journalist who has covered real estate for six years. During her 20-year career, her articles have appeared regularly in the Wall Street Journal, TV Week, and Fortune. She's been writing for AOL Real Estate since 2009 from a Minneapolis-area rental. She seeks a book publisher -- or at least a lender who'll give a reasonable mortgage rate to a self-employed mom.
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