Davis Development partner owns storied oceanfront property tied to legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher and Florida’s Treasure Coast

VERO BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / September 8, 2026 / Long before Blake Davis purchased one of Vero Beach’s most storied properties, the oceanfront house was connected to a very different pursuit: the search for millions of dollars in sunken Spanish treasure.

Davis, a partner at real estate company Davis Development, owns the historic property known as the “Treasure House,” which served as a base for legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher during his search for treasure from the 1715 Spanish fleet. Fisher was among the pioneers who helped uncover the extraordinary history lying beneath the waters off Florida’s east coast and establish the region now known as the Treasure Coast.

“For someone who has spent his life around real estate, it is incredible to own a property where the history is every bit as interesting as the house itself,” Davis said. “You can look out at the ocean and imagine Mel Fisher and the other treasure hunters heading out each day not knowing what they might find. There is a sense of adventure and history here that you simply cannot recreate.”

The story behind the Treasure House stretches back centuries. In July 1715, a fleet of Spanish ships sailing from Cuba to Spain encountered a powerful hurricane off Florida’s east coast. Eleven ships were lost, sending vast quantities of gold, silver, coins and other valuables to the ocean floor. The wreckage ultimately gave the surrounding region its Treasure Coast name and attracted generations of treasure hunters hoping to recover what remained beneath the water.

Fisher arrived in Vero Beach in the early 1960s and began searching the waters off Florida’s Atlantic coast. His work recovering artifacts and valuables from the 1715 fleet helped launch his legendary career and demonstrated that enormous quantities of Spanish treasure could still be recovered centuries after the ships sank.

Fisher later moved to the Florida Keys and turned his attention to the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank near the Keys in 1622. After a 16-year search, Fisher’s team discovered the ship’s famed mother lode in 1985. The recovery included silver bars and coins, gold, emeralds and historic artifacts collectively valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, making it one of the most celebrated treasure discoveries in history.

Today, the Treasure House remains a tangible link to the earlier chapter of Fisher’s remarkable story.

For Davis, the property also represents an unusual intersection between his professional life in real estate and his appreciation for Florida history. Davis Development has spent years developing residential communities throughout the Southeast, while the Treasure House reminds him that the most memorable properties are often defined by far more than their architecture or location.

“Real estate is ultimately about creating places that become part of people’s lives and their stories,” Davis said. “This house already had an extraordinary story long before I arrived. I consider myself a caretaker of that history, and I am glad to help preserve it for the future.”

Contact:

Steve Honig, The Honig Company, LLC
818-986-4300
press@honigllc.com

SOURCE: Blake Davis

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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