Investment manager tied to Crown family pays $6M for Murano at Portofino townhome

UPDATED July 16, 4:25 p.m.: A Chicago investment fund manager tied to the Crown family just paid $5.98 million for a townhome at Murano at Portofino in Miami Beach.

James A. Star is the CEO and president of Longview Asset Management and is married to Sara Crown Star, a member of the billionaire Crown family of Chicago. He purchased the townhome at the waterfront luxury condo tower at 1000 South Pointe Drive from M4 Portofino, which lists its registered agent as Dorr Asset Management, a Cayman Islands company, property records show.

The 2,786-square-foot, three-bedroom unit, TH M4, was previously purchased by M4 Portofino in 2013 for $4.85 million. Star bought the townhome for $2,149 per square foot.  Sildy Cervera of Cervera Real Estate represented the seller. Stacy Robins of Stacy Robins Companies, Inc. represented the buyer.

The Crown family is one of the wealthiest families in Chicago with interests in the New York Yankees, the Chicago Bulls, the Rockefeller Center and General Dynamics. The family also has a large philanthropic organization, where Crown Star works as a director.

The Murano at Portofino, a 189-unit luxury waterfront condo in South Beach’s South-of-Fifth neighborhood, was developed by the Related Group in 2002.

In February, pet e-commerce millionaire Alex Zhardanovsky paid $5 million for unit 1401 at Murano at Portofino. Last year, vitamin mogul Andrew Lessman paid $6 million for unit 2201.

The South-of-Fifth neighborhood has seen much redevelopment in recent years. Luxury condominiums like One Ocean, 321 Ocean and Louver House have been built, and several new restaurants have opened, including Forte Dei Marmi at 150 Ocean Drive and Planta at 850 Commerce Street.