Sylvester Stallone wants to keep moving forward with plans to build an underwater barrier near his Palm Beach home, despite the wrath of neighbors in his affluent, water-front community.
Stallone, 78, reportedly has plans to build a seaweed barrier in the Intracoastal Waterway by his $35 million mansion, according to The Palm Beach Post.
What appears to be billed as an environmental project needed to keep out debris and seaweed from the waterway, “the overall project purpose is to exclude boaters” from being near the property, a public notice from the Army Corps stated. Seaweed is listed as a secondary concern.
Neighbors were reportedly blindsided by the proposal request from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which stated they have until 5 p.m. on Christmas Day to comment on Stallone’s project, according to the outlet.
Sylvester Stallone and wife Jennifer Flavin want to build an underwater barrier near their home in Palm Beach, Florida. (Mireya Acierto/Getty Images for amfAR)
The “Rocky” actor’s application also included a request for a lease of state land due to the positioning of the barrier which is owned by the state, according to records.
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“He bought a beautiful property,” Stallone’s neighbor Bradford Gary told the outlet, calling the home “one of the nicest West Indies houses” in the North End. “I can see why you’d want to protect it. But you can’t just kind of stake your claim and think you own the water.”
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets actor Sylvester Stallone onstage at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Representatives for Stallone did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In 2021, Stallone was confirmed as the buyer of a sprawling $35 million home, which sits on approximately 1.5 lakefront acres, facing over 250 feet of beach with a dock.
The total living space – including a main house, a guest house and a pool pavilion near the keyhole-shaped pool in the backyard – is over 13,000 square feet. Between the main and guest spaces, the property has seven bedrooms and 12 baths.
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Records indicated the barrier application was submitted in January 2023, with plans received by the Army Corps in August. A month-long public comment period began on Oct. 24, where one question was submitted regarding manatees becoming entangled, and the proposed project’s effects on seagrasses.
Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin have been married for 27 years. (Amy Sussman)
“The Corps is reviewing the project purpose to determine if the use of barrier for the purpose of deterring boaters within the public waterway is permittable,” the Army Corps spokesperson said, according to The Palm Beach Post.
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For residents Susan Gary and husband Bradford, the public-comment period notice was only recently received in the mail, and long after the window had closed for them to raise concerns.
“Usually when your neighbors are gonna do something, we’ve found in Palm Beach, usually they call,” Gary said. “A lot of neighbors are concerned.”
Last year, Stallone spoke about his decision to relocate to the East Coast after building his career and family in Los Angeles. In the opening scenes of his Netflix documentary, “Sly,” Stallone spoke about the decision to move, saying it was beneficial to his creativity.
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“I wasn’t moving because ‘Oh, wow, I wanted another beautiful view.’ Any time changing that paradigm which you become used to, it’s literally to jump-start that process again,” he explained.
Flavin also made it clear that change was the primary factor for their move, not any concern over crime rates expressed by some celebrities.
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“There’s crime everywhere, there’s crime in Florida, too, so I didn’t move because of crime. You can find it anywhere you look, even in small towns,” the mother of three said.
“I think California is probably the most beautiful state in the United States. I absolutely love it, but I just needed a change. I felt like I’ve been there long enough, and life is short, so I wanted to make a change and not just be sitting in one house the rest of my life.”
