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American Commercial Realty buys North Palm Beach property for $36M
Firm headed by Rick Baer bought the nearly 8-acre site with retail and offices
UPDATED, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.: In a deal that closed at roughly $9 million below listing price, American Commercial Realty picked up a North Palm Beach mixed-use property.
The Palm Beach Gardens-based commercial real estate firm paid $36.2 million for a 7.9-acre site at 1201 U.S. Highway 1. Called Crystal Cove Commons, the property features 75,000 square feet of ground-floor retail next to a four-story office building built in 1982, records show.
The seller is Black Lion Investment Group, a Beverly Hills, California-based commercial real estate firm led by Robert Rivani.
The property was originally listed in October 2020 for $44.8 million by another brokerage. JLL’s Eric Williams represented Black Lion in the sale.
Black Lion still is making a hefty return on its investment, selling the site for $22 million above the price it paid five years ago. In 2016, Black Lion bought Crystal Cove for $14 million, records show. Rivani’s company “invested millions of dollars into capital improvements” at the 120,474-square-foot complex between 2017 and 2019, according to a press release.
Crystal Cove is home to a diverse mix of dining outlets, fitness centers, and offices of high-end services and medical providers, the release states. Tenants include Stormhouse Brewing, Cod & Capers Seafood Marketplace & Café, Cucina Cabana, Horizon Yacht USA and Fuse Speciality Appliances.
American Commercial Realty was founded in 2002 by President and COO Richard Baer. Before forming his real estate firm, Baer was vice president and director of real estate for Pompano Beach-based Baer’s Furniture Company. He oversaw an expansion of the furniture business from five stores and one warehouse in two counties to 14 stores and four warehouses throughout South Florida, according to American Commercial’s website.
Palm Beach County has experienced an uptick in office building trades recently. Last month, an affiliate of Atlanta-based investment management firm Jordan Capital AM paid $12.4 million for Palm Gate Plaza, an office and retail center in West Palm Beach. Irvine, California-based IRA Capital bought a Boca Raton outpatient center for $16 million. And in a $23 million deal, Trian Partners acquired an office building in Palm Beach.