Chris Carlos, scion of wine and spirits distributor, pays $25M for Oceana Bal Harbour penthouse

A scion of the nation’s second largest wine and spirits distributor just sank $25 million into a penthouse at Oceana Bal Harbour.

Records show Chris Michael Carlos, the CEO of Atlanta-based Republic National Distributing Company, bought the duplex unit UP 2801 in the new 28-story, 240-unit luxury condo tower at 10201 Collins Avenue. Carlos, the son of the family-owned company’s former chairman and CEO, Michael C. Carlos, financed the unit with a $15 million mortgage from Morgan Stanley Private Bank.

The Carlos’ business roots date back to 1942, when his grandfather founded the Dixie Wine Company, later known as National Distributing Company. Today, Republic National Distributing Company supplies wine and spirits in nearly two dozen states, according to company information. It is second only to Miami-based Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, which distributes in 35 states.

Carlos is a trustee of the Atlanta Ballet, according to the ballet’s website, and last year was named the “Philanthropist of the Year” by the Atlanta chapter of the Association of Fund-Raising Professionals.  

Oceana Bal Harbour, developed by Eduardo Costantini‘s Consultatio, has an estimated $1.3 billion sellout, which would set a record in South Florida. The project would beat out Oceana Key Biscayne, also developed by Consultatio, which generated nearly $580 million in recorded closings.

Records show at least 140 units have closed so far at Oceana Bal Harbour since it opened in November. Owners include Paraguayan magnate Jorge A. Riquelme, auto magnate Phillip H. Resnick and Nancy Resnick; Fidelity Investments portfolio manager Mark Notkin; Accenture managing director Paul Rakowski and Estee Lauder Companies vice president Amy DiGeso; and NetApp vice chairman Tom Mendoza, as well as a list of foreign buyers.

Designed by Arquitectonica, Oceana Bal Harbour has a total of four upper penthouses, including two that were under contract for $26 million each earlier this year. Piero Lissoni designed the interiors, the private restaurant and the penthouse bathrooms. Enzo Enea designed the pool deck landscape.

The 5.5-acre site was formerly known as the Bal Harbour Beach Club before Consultatio purchased it in 2012 for $220 million. A year later, the developer closed on a $332 million construction loan from a group of lenders led by HSBC.