Christopher Burch, Tory’s ex, buys Miami Beach estate for $12M

5111 Pine Tree Drive and Christopher Burch
5111 Pine Tree Drive and Christopher Burch

A company tied to J. Christopher Burch, head of Burch Creative Capital and ex-husband of designer Tory Burch, paid $12 million for a waterfront Miami Beach home, property records show. 

Developer Richard Meruelo and his wife Maria sold their waterfront estate at 5111 Pine Tree Drive to JCB Miami LLC, which is in the care of Burch Creative Capital, a New York-based creative capital firm that invests in apparel and accessories, snack foods and more.

Burch was married to Tory Burch from 1996 to 2007, and his net worth hit $1 billion after he sold shares in his ex’s company, but he has since dropped off the Forbes billionaire ranking.

He’s also one of developer Alan Faena’s investors. Faena, along with Floyd Mayweather Jr., live on the exclusive street.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The Pine Tree Drive home, a 1.6-acre property with 170 feet of frontage along Indian Creek, was built in 1929. The nine-bedroom, 8,551-square-foot mansion sold for $1,417 per square foot. The Meruelos bought the mansion and the vacant lot next door in 2012 for $8.5 million, but the lot was not included in this latest deal.

The Pine Tree Drive property was not listed for sale on the MLS. In February, developer Barry Brodsky sold a spec home at 4555 Pine Tree Drive for $22.575 million, the highest sale price Miami Beach has seen in two years.

Richard Meruelo is the developer behind a planned mixed-use project in Edgewater. His Rebuild Miami-Edgewater LLC paid $64 million for the development site on the corner of Northeast Second Avenue and Northeast 17th Street in Miami, but has allegedly failed to pay the $34 million loan tied to the 2015 acquisition and is being sued in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The Meruelos, who also own the Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach, planned to build a 10-story, 200-room hotel on the 7.35-acre plot.