Real estate listings and sales records indicate that singer Billy Joel is trying to sell his ocean-to-Intracoastal estate in Manalapan (above), and possibly taking on this sprawling estate (below) in the Sanctuary community of Boca Raton. Photos provided
By Christine Davis
Billy Joel may soon be “Turning the Lights Back On” in a new home.
In January, the “Piano Man” relisted his Manalapan estate at 1110 S. Ocean Blvd. for $54.9 million. It was originally listed for $64.9 million in November 2022.
Built in 2010, the nine-bedroom, 20,838-square-foot home sits on 1.6 acres with about 150 feet of frontage on the ocean and Intracoastal Waterway. The compound includes a guest house and staff house; details in the main house include a theater room, a pub room with a bar, paneled library, 12-plus-car garage, and wine cellar with a wet bar and tasting table.
Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate holds the listing.
Joel’s Manalapan residence was built on part of the Harold S. Vanderbilt estate and sold by Veronica Hearst to developer Robert Fessler. He sold the house new in 2011 to Texas banking businessman Donald Adam for $15 million.
Adam then sold it to Joel for $22 million in January 2015.
Joel, who says he and his family plan to spend more time in Florida, has also listed Middlesea, his Long Island estate, for $49 million.
So, where will Joel and his family reside next? Could that be the waterfront home at 5001 Egret Point Circle, in the Sanctuary neighborhood of Boca Raton?
Owners Vernon Circle LLC, Oleg Movchan and Beata Vaynberg sold the property in January for $29 million amid speculation Joel was the buyer. The sellers were represented by Carmen D’Angelo Jr., Gerard Liguori and Joseph Liguori of Premier Estate Properties.
The eight-bedroom estate with 21,607 square feet includes a separate guest house, a pool and 560 feet fronting the water on three sides with multi-yacht dockage. The listing reads that the “Italianate trophy-point estate” has a grand salon with columned archways, hand-distressed walnut floor and “baronial fireplace”; museum-quality walnut paneling and stained-glass windows in the English pub room with a bar and two wine vaults; and a library with oak paneling and onyx fireplace.
Movchan is the chief executive officer of Chicago-based Enfusion, a software-as-a-service provider for investment managers. Vaynberg is president of Highland Park, Illinois-based LB&M Real Estate Management Inc. The new owner is listed as 5001 Egret Point Circle LLC, incorporated in Florida on Jan. 3. The registered agent and manager is GSB Corporate Services in Wellington, a law firm incorporated under attorney Francisco J. Gonzalez.
The LLC ownership company of 1110 S Ocean also lists GSB Corporate Services as its registered agent and manager, as does a townhome at 331 Australian Ave., Palm Beach, which also has been reported as owned by Joel. Hence the speculation that Joel is the new owner of the Egret Point Circle estate.
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A year ago, residents from the Moorings were making routine visits to Lantana Town Council meetings to protest the size of Lantana Cabana, a restaurant developers hoped to construct at the Intracoastal community off Dixie Highway in the northern part of town.
Residents said a 4,000-square-foot proposal was too big for the .13-acre island, which is connected to the mainland by a dock and bordered by land owned by the homeowners association and surrounded on three sides by moored boats.
Three years ago, Gulfstream Hospitality purchased the island for $1.01 million with plans to build a waterfront restaurant at the 378-unit condominium complex.
Those plans were scrapped last fall and the property, listed by restaurant brokers Prakas & Co. in Boca Raton, is on the market for $2.5 million.
The land has approvals for a 1,500-square-foot enclosed space with 4,000 square feet under the roof. The listing says the property comes with 50 dedicated parking spaces and two boat slips.
Lantana Director of Development Services Nicole Dritz said no one notified her office to report the Gulfstream Hospitality property was for sale. Dritz said submitted plans are going nowhere, and she had advice for potential buyers: “Talk to the town before you buy so you’ll know what will fly and what will not.”
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There’s been a lot going on with the 1140 S. Ocean Blvd. property in Manalapan. Most recently, a company led by Bridgehampton, New York-based developer Joe L. Farrell paid $32.5 million for it and immediately filed for permits to renovate the home. The seller is Mark Sherman, the CEO of Atlanta-based Green Wave Electronics. Premier Estate Properties agent Margit Brandt represented Farrell. Pier Paolo Visconti and Claudia Llanes of Douglas Elliman represented the seller.
Sherman listed the property a year ago for $59 million with his ex-wife, Isabella Sherman.
They had paid $8 million for it in December 2000. With other price points optional, the $59 million price tag was for the home, with renovations complete.
Renovations had been underway on and off since 2017 with a few permit extensions. At that time, according to Visconti, those renovations were expected to be completed in 14 to 16 months.
“If the buyer wants to buy it as is, obviously the price will be lower,” Visconti said. “Another possibility, we just made plans to build a 3,500-square-foot guest house on the property, and for that, the price would be adjusted as well.”
Sherman had big dreams for the property. On 1.61 acres with 150 feet of waterfront on the ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, the residence would have included seven bedrooms and 12,420 square feet.Features would have included a champagne room, gym, library, home theater, game room, wine storage for 1,000 bottles, and a 12-car garage.
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Peter R. Norden, CEO of mortgage lending firm HomeBridge, sold a spec home built by SRD Building Corp. at 1812 Sabal Palm Circle in Boca Raton’s Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club for $16.9 million, in a deal recorded Feb. 2.
David and Robin Reis, trustees of the Royal Palm Residence Trust, are the new owners. David Reis is the CEO of Senior Care Development, a New York company that builds living facilities for older adults. Norden bought the property for $5 million in November 2021. David Roberts of Royal Palm Properties represented both sides.
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Four new tenants will move into the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, making the 1.7-million-square-foot science hub 91% leased. They are Engineering Express, a building-component design firm; Hollywood.com, an entertainment news and ticket sales website; LandAirSea, a GPS tracking system manufacturer, and MODE Architects.
Also, revenue-cycle management platform EdgeMed and the investment firm Orchid Bay Financial Holdings renewed their leases there, with Orchid Bay planning to expand.
BRIC was represented by Jeff Kelly of CBRE in the lease negotiations. Hollywood.com was represented by Will Morrison of CBRE. Anthony Vallagi of Posh Properties represented LandAirSea. EdgeMed was represented by Jason Stagman of Stagman Commercial Real Estate. Engineering Express, MODE Architects, and Orchid Bay were not represented by brokers.
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Four new entrepreneurs were selected to join the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. They were selected based on their innovative approaches, proven records and ability to partner with the university.
The new arrivals are: InfraSite, led by CEO Vitaliy Pereverzev, a company that comes up with solutions to smoothly integrate 5G, data centers and edge computing facilities into city settings; Fenway Group, led by CEO Martin Santora, a company that offers customized solutions for businesses to take charge of their digital operations; Signalic LLC, led by founder & CEO Arash Andalib, a biomedical tech venture offering personalized pain management solutions; and Salus Water, led by President Marcelo Costa, a company that specializes in residential water filtration and purification systems.
The Research Park also announced the elections of Stacy Volnick, Ph.D., FAU president, and Imran Siddiqui, JD, as chair and vice chair respectively of the Florida Atlantic Research and Development Authority for 2024. Volnick and Siddiqui will work closely with members of the authority and executive management to continue the park’s mission of promoting research and economic development in South Florida.
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Lang Realty recently donated $6,247 to the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer,” as part of its annual Open the Door for a Cure campaign.
Throughout October, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each home closed was dedicated to the charity. “Lang has been a proud supporter of this cause for more than a decade,” said President Scott Agran. “Many of our own agents and staff have personally battled this disease or have gone through this with loved ones.”
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TRX, a company that produces portable gym equipment, recently celebrated the opening of its new 12,000-square-foot headquarters at 1110 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach. Moving from San Francisco, TRX aims for a “revitalized” new start after being reacquired by its founder, retired Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick, who started the company in 2004.
He sold his controlling interest in 2019, but in 2022, he bought it out of bankruptcy for $8.4 million with Jack Daly, a Delray Beach resident who is managing partner of Delray Beach-based JFXD Capital and former partner at Goldman Sachs. Daly will serve as CEO of the company.
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The Platt Group, a team of Compass real estate brokers headed by Alex and Margot Platt, recently opened a 2,000-square-foot office at 102 NE First Ave., Delray Beach. Focusing on residential real estate, about 15 people will work in the office. Previously, the space served as the headquarters for Delivery Dudes.
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Area resorts again won five-star ratings from the Forbes Travel Guide: Eau Palm Beach, Manalapan; Four Seasons, Palm Beach, and The Boca Raton. Ranked after anonymous visits from the travel guide’s team of inspectors, all three received five-star ratings for their hotels and spas, with Florie’s restaurant at the Four Seasons, headed by Michelin-star chef Mauro Colagreco, receiving four stars.
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Under Jan Kinder, chair of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Delray Business Partners leads group, members generated more than $172,000 of gross sales by doing business with one another as well as by referring their colleagues in the group to other potential clients. For information on the group, visit delraybusinesspartners.com.
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Erin L. Deady, a licensed Delray Beach attorney and certified land planner in Florida, recently helped secure funding for projects addressing flooding and sea-level rise resilience.
In a larger funding request of $2.5 billion for 238 projects, Deady authored six project grants totaling $48.8 million, ranking among the top 33 projects.
The projects cover areas such as bridge replacement, wastewater plants, stormwater resiliency and road adaptation. This funding announcement is part of the Resilient Florida program for 2024-2025, pending approval in the legislative session ending in March.
The project list complies with a state law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021, creating the Resilient Florida grant program.
The law mandates annual submission of project lists and statewide flooding and sea level rise resiliency plans, starting in 2022.
Deady played a role in securing an additional $1.5 million for local governments to enhance or initiate new vulnerability planning projects.
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The nonprofit Institute for Regional Conservation announced two staff appointments this year. Alex Seasholtz was appointed director of ecological restoration. He joined the institute in 2019 as the crew leader for the Pine Rockland Initiative program. Liz Dutra was appointed the conservation program manager. She joined the institute in 2023 as a program associate.
Other news from the institute: It has collaborated with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in a shared commitment on the Jacquemontia reclinata coastal restoration project. Also known as beach clustervine, this coastal species, which stabilizes beach dunes, provides critical habitat and food for wildlife.
The institute has been educating the public about the importance of coastal restoration and asking people to be on the lookout for this endangered plant.
If you think you have spotted a beach clustervine, photograph it and upload it to the iNaturalist app, or contact Dutra at ldutra@regionalconservation.org.
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Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science received a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a scholarship program in the field of cybersecurity.
The foundation’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program seeks to increase the number of qualified cybersecurity professionals working for federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments.
The program is managed by the foundation in collaboration with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Homeland Security.
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A local Stanley Steemer office is warning people getting their carpets cleaned: If you think you’ve called the company to do your home and someone arrives in anything other than one of the company’s yellow, branded vans — and not wearing a company polo shirt, either — you’re being scammed.
After hearing complaints about shoddy service from people who wanted Stanley Steemer, but who appear to have fallen for a fake internet ad, Delray Beach store owner Tom Scalera filed fraud reports with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Customers told Scalera that the workers claimed to be subcontractors for the company, something the company does not have.
Mary Thurwachter contributed to this column.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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