In the latest roundup of South Florida luxury residential deals, a former Canadian politician, the Barnes & Noble founder’s wife, a spa chain mogul and real estate developers bought homes in the region.
Deals spanned from Miami Beach to Wellington and ranged from $8 million to $12 million.
Miami Beach
In Miami Beach, developer brothers Ghassan and Roger Abboud bought a waterfront teardown in the Venetian Islands for $8 million, marking a $2 million loss for the seller.
The Abbouds bought the house at 325 East San Marino Drive from Franklin Management Company, a Virginia company helmed by John A. Franklin, records show.
Jill Eber of the Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker Realty had the listing, and Cecilia Mendez of Douglas Elliman brought the buyers.
Franklin bought the home for $10 million in 2022, according to property records. The 3,200-square-foot house was built in 1940 on a quarter acre. It has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, one half bathroom, a pool and a dock.
He listed it for $13.9 million in April 2022, one month after closing on the property, Compass shows. The price was dropped three times before selling for a $2 million loss.
The Abbouds, who are partners with Shadi Shomar on a 278-unit workforce housing development in Naranja, will likely build a spec home on the property.
West Palm Beach
A manufacturing boss and his wife sold their unit at the Bristol for $12 million after upsizing to a nearby waterfront home for $16.6 million.
David Brule and his wife Thu Brule sold unit 602 at 1100 South Flagler Drive to former Canadian senator Linda Frum, records show.
Margit Brandt of Premier Estate Properties represented both sides of the transaction.
Frum was a Conservative member of the Canadian Senate from 2009 to 2021. Her husband, Howard Sokolowski, is the founder and CEO of Canadian development giant Metropia.
Brule is president and CEO of Northern Star Industries in Iron Mountain, Michigan. He and his wife bought the Bristol condo for $5.6 million in 2020, records show. The 4,400-square-foot unit has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and one half-bathroom. The Bristol was completed in 2019 by developers Al Adelson and Gene Golub as one of the first major luxury condo projects in the city in a decade.
The Brules listed the unit for $13.8 million in December, Redfin shows. They bought the waterfront house at 2305 South Flagler Drive for $16.6 million in January. It spans 0.4 acres, 6,600 square feet, five bedrooms, four bathrooms, one half-bathroom, a pool and was built in 2020, according to property records.
Jupiter
In Jupiter, a spa magnate bought a non-waterfront newly built home in Admirals Cove for $8.7 million.
John and Dawn Marco bought the house at 119 Clipper Lane from Charlton C. Holmes, records show.
Chris Burke and Jeffrey Lichtenstein of Echo Fine Properties had the listing, and Jessica Gulick and Scott Laird of Compass brought the buyers.
John Marco is the founder of Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, a spa franchise with more than 500 locations across the country and more than $550 million in avenue revenue, according to published reports.
Holmes is the third-generation to run his family’s car dealership business, Holmes Honda, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He bought the Clipper Lane house for $5 million in April of last year, records show. The 5,200-square-foot house spans 0.4 acres, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, one half-bathroom and a pool, the listing shows. It was completed earlier this year.
It was listed for $10 million last year, and the price was dropped twice before selling for $8.7 million, Zillow shows.
Wellington
In the equestrian village Wellington, the former chief financial officer of the struggling Vice Media sold a home for $8.1 million.
Ramin Arani and his wife Stacey Arani sold the house at 3540 Ambassador Road to Louise Riggio, wife of Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio, records show. Leslie Pack of Browning Realty had the listing, and Luis Rodriguez of Keller Williams Realty represented the buyer.
Arani was a longtime portfolio manager at Fidelity before he joined Vice as its CFO in 2019, according to published reports. Vice shuttered its news site and layed off hundreds of employees in February.
The Aranis bought the Wellington home for $3.2 million in 2018, records show. The 7,200-square-foot house was built on half an acre in 2003, and includes four bedrooms, five bathrooms, one half-bathroom and a pool, according to property records. They listed the house in March for $8.5 million in March, Redfin shows.
Leonard and Louise Riggio’s primary residence is at 720 Park Avenue, a legendary Upper East Side co-op in New York City. They also have a 13-acre Hamptons estate where they house their extensive sculpture collection, the Wall Street Journal reported.