Florida buyer takes pair of Boca Raton condominiums for $8.5 million

A Sarasota-based limited liability company has paid $8.5 million for a pair of units in Boca Raton’s Luxuria condominium, according to a deed filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office. The two units were sold directly by the project’s developer, Boca Ocean Development, to an entity called BTIBR, LLC, which lists Michael Furen as its managing member.

Boca Ocean Development is a subsidiary of the Trump Group, which is headed by Eddie and Jules Trump (no relation to Donald Trump).

The deal was confirmed to The Real Deal by Michael Goldstein, president of sales and marketing for the Trump Group.

BTIBR could not be reached for comment.

“It was a combination of 9,100 square feet, totally custom,” Goldstein told The Real Deal.

Goldstein, who is also heading sales at the 79-unit Mansions at Acqualina project in Sunny Isles Beach, said there were only two properties left at the 26-unit project.

The buyer is an end-user, not an investor, he said.

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Trump Group has made a point of focusing on primary residential users, as opposed to investment groups, particularly at the new Acqualina project.

That development, which is set to launch construction by the end of the year, has already exceeded $200 million in sales.

While Boca Raton’s downtown area is working to reposition itself, the city’s oceanfront market has shown some strength through the downturn, albeit at a limited number of properties.

The deal worked out to an average of more than $940 per square foot, in the range of the most expensive properties in Boca Raton, including the recently-listed penthouse at Toscana North.

“The strength in Boca Raton’s oceanfront market has been confined to two buildings, as far as condos are concerned: One Thousand Ocean and also Luxuria,” said Seaside Property Group’s John Mclennan, who was not involved in the deal. “But both of those buildings are taking longer to sell than hoped for — substantially longer — but that’s where probably 95 percent of the luxury sales have occurred in the Boca Raton market.”

One Thousand Ocean has topped $50 million in sales in the past year.