Private equity firm co-founder sells waterfront Tequesta estate for $5M

The co-founder and general partner of a private equity firm sold his waterfront Tequesta estate for $5 million.

Edward Elliott and his wife, Nancy Reid, sold the 7,000-square-foot house at 19000 Point Drive. The gated estate has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and sits on almost one-and-a-half acres.

The buyer, Bella Properties of Tequesta, is tied to Stuart, Florida-based lawyer Rick Kozell and real estate agent Andrew Russo of Illustrated Properties. Russo also represented the buyer in the deal, according to the listing. Rita Dickinson with The Keyes Company represented the sellers.

The two-story house has a four-car garage and clay tennis courts and sits along the Loxahatchee River. It also features a guest house with its own two-car garage, according to the listing. The house was listed for $5.5 million in March and relisted for the same price in June.

The home was built in 2003. Elliott paid $3.5 million for the estate in 2009, records show.

Elliott co-founded Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based private equity firm Franklin Enterprises, and is general partner. Before that, he was a partner at Touche, Ross & Co., a predecessor of Big Four accounting firm Deloitte. He established an academic excellence fund at his alma mater, University of Michigan Dearborn, according to the university’s website.

Notable names to call Tequesta home include a former Playboy Playmate of the Month — who bought a waterfront home for $3.1 million — and former professional golfer Gary Nicklaus, the son of Jack. Nicklaus bought a house in 2014 for $2.5 million.