Finance mogul linked to Crown family buys Miami Beach penthouse and cabana for $13M

Condo includes a rooftop pool; cabana has a full bath and kitchenette

James Star and The Caribbean at 3737 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach (Photos via Google Maps; Chewy)
James Star and The Caribbean at 3737 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach (Photos via Google Maps; Chewy)

UPDATED, Feb. 25, 10:55 a.m.: A trust linked to the executive chairman of a Chicago-based investment firm bought an oceanfront penthouse and cabana in Miami Beach for $13.4 million.

Records show James A. Star, as trustee of the 3737 Collins Land Trust, purchased unit PH-3 and Cabana 2 at The Caribbean condo tower at 3737 Collins Avenue. The sellers are Linden and Michelle Nelson.

Star is executive chairman of Chicago-based Longview Asset Management. He is married to Sara Crown Star, a member of the billionaire Crown family of Chicago. In 2018, he bought a townhome at Murano at Portofino in Miami Beach for $6 million. Property records show he still owns it.

The Nelsons had bought the condo at 3737 Collins Avenue as SLAM Miami LLC in 2010 for $4.3 million. They purchased the cabana in a separate deal for $237,500. In 2014, the deeds were changed to their names, according to property records.

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According to Realtor.com, the penthouse and cabana were listed in November 2020 for $14.9 million. Diane Lieberman and Anna Sherrill with One Sotheby’s International Realty represented the sellers, while Stacy Robins, of Stacy Robins Companies, represented the buyer.

The 3,911-square-foot penthouse has four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. According to the listing, the condo also features a rooftop pool, 1,480-square-feet of wraparound terraces and a private elevator.

The cabana has a full bath and kitchenette and spans 464 square feet.

The total sale equates to $3,062 per square foot.

Other recent condo sales in Miami Beach include brothers Michael and Ron Simkins of Innovate Development Group selling a penthouse on Fisher Island for $9 million, and the executive chairman of an agricultural sciences company buying a Fisher Island penthouse for $20 million.