Todd Glaser venture buys Palm Beach site with plans for 2 luxury spec homes

Todd Michael Glaser and three partners plan to develop a pair of luxury spec homes on a Palm Beach property they just bought.

Glaser, a spec home developer, along with Philip Levine, Scott Robins and Jonathan Fryd, paid $9 million for the site at 111 Atlantic Avenue. The partners intend to spend another $7 million to build the two houses, Glaser said.

The project marks the first time Glaser has entered into a deal with Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach and one-time gubernatorial candidate. The other partners have invested together before, largely in Miami Beach.

Whitney McGurk of Brown Harris Stevens represented the group in the off-market purchase. Tom Shaw of Douglas Elliman represented the seller. Records show it is Sandell Corp., which paid $1.4 million for the property in 1990. The latest sale price equates to $273 per square foot for the land.

The 33,000-square-foot property is the site of a home built in 1979, and Palm Beach has already given approval to tear it down, Glaser said. Palm Beach staff must approve the lot split, which will return the property to its original lot line, Glaser said.

Architect Rafael Portuondo — who has designed several homes in Palm Beach, including Bon Jovi’s house nearby — will be designing the two houses. The property is on a quiet street that only runs four blocks.

Glaser said he holds a 40 percent interest in the project, while Levine, Robins and Fryd have the remaining 60 percent interest.

The house on the east side will be built on an 18,000-square-foot lot, with a 7,500-square-foot home designed in an Art Deco modern style. The other, 6,000-square-foot house will be built on a 15,000-square-foot lot, with a Mediterranean feel.

Plans are to list the spec homes for $15.5 million and $12.5 million. After spending a combined $16 million, including projected construction costs, the partners could earn a $12 million return on the investment.

Glaser has been an active spec home builder, and is now partnering with Stuart Miller, Lennar Corp.’s former CEO and current executive chairman, to build a 27,000-square-foot mansion at 22 Star Island. The project, expected to be completed next year, will be priced at between $69 million to $79 million. Glaser has two more homes under construction in Miami Beach, one at 1635 West 22nd on Sunset Island IV and another at 119 East Second Court on Hibiscus Island.

Levine, who owns more than $100 million in real estate in Miami, Miami Beach, Okeechobee and New York; and Robins, CEO of the Robins Companies, have been investing together for years. In July, they sold a major retail portfolio they developed in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood for nearly $69 million to Asana Partners, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based real estate investment firm.

Levine and Robins recently filed plans with the city of Miami for a residential and hotel project at 35 Northwest 27th Street in Miami’s Wynwood.

Fryd was a partner with Michael Comras in the $370 million sale in 2015 of an entire block on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road to Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega.