Ivy Realty trades boutique Palm Beach offices to NYC investors for $17M

Investment firm Ivy Realty just made a tidy profit on the $16.75 million sale of a Palm Beach office building it bought out of foreclosure six years ago and renovated.

County records show Ivy, which is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, closed its sale of the offices at 250 Royal Palm Way on Tuesday. The buyer was an affiliate of EPIC, a New York investment firm headed by Steven and Michael Elghanayan.

Built in 1975, 250 Royal Palm Way is three stories tall with 24,000 square feet of office space. It’s occupied by coveted tenants like Northern Trust, a wealth management company that anchors the building, and Deutsche Bank, according to commercial listing website LoopNet.

The building is situated on “Banker’s Row,” a pricey stretch of Palm Beach commercial real estate that makes up one of the country’s most expensive office markets. It’s home to a plethora of major financial institutions who shell out upwards of $50 per square foot annually for the premium locations on Royal Palm Way.

Ivy saw opportunity in the aging building, which was in distress but still boasted a ritzy address. The investment firm swooped in and paid $7 million for the foreclosed building, then put another $3.5 million into redoing the common areas, roof, air-conditioning system elevators and lobby.

Now, EPIC has added it to its repertoire of commercial investments. According to its website, the company’s U.S. portfolio is mostly located in New York, where it owns residential and mixed-use buildings.

The company financed its Royal Palm Way purchase with an $8.375 million from Sun National Bank.