Hotelier’s widow buys waterfront home in Boca Raton

Toni Fitts, whose late husband John Fitts co-founded OLS Hotels and Resorts, just bought a waterfront home in Boca Raton for $5.28 million, property records show.

The 7,767-square-foot house at 215 West Alexander Palm Road sits just south of the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, where home sites range from $1.5 million and $15 million. The deal breaks down to about $680 per square foot.

John Fitts co-founded the hotel management company OLS Hotels and Resorts, previously Outrigger Lodging Services, in 1988 and served as its president and CEO until retiring in 2016. He passed away the same year.

Records show Michael A. McNeal sold the property as a trustee of a trust in his name. He was the founder, president and CEO of the software solutions company Emergin, which specializes in alarm management systems used in hospitals. The company was acquired by Royal Philips Electronics in 2007 for an undisclosed amount. That same year, Emergin made $18 million in sales, according to a press release.

The home was built in 2002 on a 15,000-square-foot lot along the Intracoastal Waterway. The two-story, six-bedroom house has been on-and-off the market since 2013, and once asked as much as $5.7 million.

Records show It previously sold for $5.25 million in 2007.

The property is near the upcoming Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences in downtown Boca Raton, built by Penn-Florida Companies.