Vacant residential land in Palm Beach sells for $18M

A prime piece of waterfront land on the southern end of Palm Beach’s Everglades Island was just sold for $18.14 million.

The lot, measuring just under an acre, is located on the island’s southwestern corner at 757 Island Drive. County records show it’s been owned for the last three years by the Sea View Development Land Trust, with Illinois businessman Thomas Tisbo as its trustee.

Tisbo, who runs the lawn-and-garden manufacturer Suncast Corp., originally paid $17.5 million for the land in 2013. That breaks down to about $446 per square foot. At the time of that purchase, the property included a mid-century home. Tisbo promptly tore it down, records show.

Since then, the land has sat empty with only a chain and a “private property” sign at its entrance.

That might change now that a new owner has stepped in. Palm Beach County records show the Islandew Revocable Trust has purchased the land for $462 per square foot. The trust lists Maura Ziska, a real estate lawyer that represents high-net-worth clients, as its trustee. No financing has yet been recorded for the deal.

Ziska can regularly be spotted representing the true buyers behind limited liability companies and trusts throughout Palm Beach. In June, she represented the buyer of a $15.6 million house in Palm Beach.