Vacant land in Delray sells for $9M to Colombian investors

A single-acre lot in Delray Beach was picked up for $9 million — nearly nine times its last sale price — to a group of Colombian investors.

The development site, at 101 Southeast First Avenue, was sold by members of a Boca Raton-based law firm named Saxena White.

Maya Saxena and Joseph White, who head the firm, first purchased the property under a company titled SW Delray One for $1.1 million in 2011, according to Palm Beach County records. 

The two have now sold the property — for a hefty profit — to Sofa I, which was formed last month. Manuel Vergara is listed as a manager on the buyer’s corporate records. His son, Felipe Vergara, told the South Florida Business Journal that his family has decades of development experience in Colombia and have lived in Boca Raton for the past 12 years.

The lot was approved last year for 76 lofts and 2,250-square-feet of retail space, the publication reported. It is surrounded by a residential neighborhood, though its immediate neighbors are a low-rise condo complex and an office building, property records show.

Vergara told the publication that his family has brought on a handful of Colombian and domestic investors for the project. They are still deciding on branding and pricing.