Drugstore scion pays $11M for unit at The Bristol

A family tied to one of the country’s largest drugstore chains snagged a unit at The Bristol in West Palm Beach for $11 million, as the condo development nears sellout.

Pamela Applebaum, acting as a trustee of the Eugene Applebaum family trust, purchased unit 2003 at the building. The Applebaum family owned Arbor Drugs, a Troy, Michigan-based drugstore chain that CVS bought for $1.48 billion in 1998.

Before it was sold, Arbor Drugs was the eighth largest drugstore chain in America, according to the Detroit Free Press. The 195-acre Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, Michigan bears the family’s name.

Flagler Investors, led by Al Adelson and Gene Golub, developed the The Bristol, a 25-story, 69-unit luxury tower at 1100 South Flagler Drive. Units range from 3,600 square feet to 14,000 square feet.

The project is the first new luxury condo building in West Palm Beach in the past decade. The development group has sold almost all of the units, and was able to attract estate owners in Palm Beach who were looking to downsize, according to Adelson.

Buyers include beauty mogul Sydell Miller, who closed on a full-floor penthouse for $42.6 million in March. Her Palm Beach estate sold this week for $105 million, tying the record for the largest residential sale ever in Palm Beach. In September, Miami developer James Harpel also bought a unit at The Bristol for $7.9 million.