welcome to Dirtiness! I am a real estate journalist Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the hot market.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a good old multi-million dollar takedown story, but what else are you going to do with a $27.5 million waterfront estate in Manalapan but demolish it? I mean, it’s from the 1980s! All those neon and jelly bracelets, Aqua Net and Crocket and Tubbs 💖. No, I’m not going back, it’s for 1960 S. Ocean Blvd.
Miami-based Related Group is also letting the world know that grumpy consumers who can only buy BOGO groceries and complain about the price of gas have it all wrong. You haven’t had a raise in six years, you say? Well, that’s stupidity. The economy is booming! And Related Group is moving full steam ahead with its Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach.
There is also a new invasive and scary that landscapers need to worry about, a new fitness business in Delray Beach that has moved from sunny California to sunny South Florida, and officials are wondering what to do with a 40-year-old government building it also has a bit of the curse of the 1980s. So put on your Lululemon, put on your HOKAs, fill your bottles with BPA-free water and off you go.
Manalapan reverses to the right
One of the largest pieces of land connecting the sea to the lake in Manalapan just sold for $27.5 million to real estate investor and former Manalapan Mayor Stewart A. Satter, who could raze the mansion perched above the Lake Worth Lagoon.
It’s not a given yet, but Satter could have some unexpected free time after he resigned four commissioners in December in response to a new state law that requires elected officials to disclose in detail the value of their assets. Satter purchased the property at a discount after it was initially listed for $38 million.
Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach move forward as people bypass Miami
It came as a bit of a shock last summer when census data revealed this Miami-Dade County there were people fleeing. Real estate agents and developers noticed the trend and saw more of it the rich are heading north out of the hubbub of Magic City. This includes Miami-based Related Group, which is move forward with its 28-story tower at 1717 N. Flagler Dr. to cash in on some of these wealthy transplants.
President and CEO Jorge Pérez said South American buyers who once had a tunnel vision for Miami are also now looking to West Palm Beach.
Ross Dress for Less Frontman Sells Palm Beach Home for Nearly Double What He Paid
The executive chairman of the retailer’s parent company Ross Dress for Less made a nice sum on an ocean estate that his ownership company purchased in July 2020 for $6.56 million. The recent sale price of $13.075 million may be a bit lower than the original list price, but it’s still nearly double what was paid less than four years ago.
Like many sales in Palm Beach, the transaction is obscured by LLCs, but the buyer at least appears to be related to Dorothy Lanier and CFO Clifford Anderson Lanier III.
Renovation of 1980s government building goes from $26 million to $160 million
The forty-year-old Robert Weisman Government Center building in the city center West Palm Beach needs some sprucing up, but estimated costs are skyrocketing to nearly $160 million. Palm Beach County commissioners are debating whether it’s worth continuing with renovations or just tearing everything down and starting again.
The building has a bit of a Soviet era aesthetic… right? Maybe it’s just me, but it seems a bit stark in a downtown area full of new designs and construction. That said, reuse, reduce and recycle.
Live lightly.
Kimberly Miller is a veteran reporter for the Palm Beach Post, part of Florida’s USA Today network. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida’s environment. To subscribe to Dirtiness for a weekly real estate overview. If you have any news tips, send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
