Oil heiress pays $13.5M for waterfront estate in Manalapan

UPDATED May 23, 3:10 p.m.: After bouncing on and off the market for eight years, a sprawling ocean-to-lake estate called Paradisio Del Mar in Manalapan finally sold for $13.5 million, property records show.

The 24,000-square-foot mansion at 1960 South Ocean Boulevard was reportedly listed in 2010 for about $35 million, so the sale price marks a 60 percent discount off the original asking price.

Records show the buyer is Jean Christine Thompson. She’s the vice president of the Dallas-based Thompson Petroleum Corp., which was co-founded by her late father James “Jimmie” Thompson Jr.

The seller, William Gerrard, is a retired entrepreneur who worked in the telecommunications industry. He also served as mayor of Manalapan from 2008 to 2010.

In a previous interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gerrard said he spent $8.1 million assembling the property between 1997 and 2002. He then invested an additional $17.2 million into renovating the property, including building an underground tunnel that connects to the estate’s private beach.

The seven-bedroom home, built in 1989, sits on 4.17-acre plot of land between the ocean and the Intracoastal. Robert Temelkoski of Bowen Realty and William McManus of the Fite Group Luxury Homes had the most recent listing. Douglas Elliman’s Steven Solomon represented buyer.

Singer-songwriter Billy Joel recently sold the neighboring lot for $7.5 million. His Manalapan mansion at 1920 South Ocean Boulevard is also on the market for $16.9 million.