The $50 million Onix Delray Beach on Southeast Fifth Avenue will have 26 residential units priced from $1.5 million to $2.25 million. Rendering provided
By Christine Davis
Wellington residents August “Gussie” Busch and Haley Busch, great-great-grandchildren of beer company co-founder Adolphus Busch, have invested in Onix Delray Beach, 318 SE Fifth Ave. The four-story, $50 million residential project, which is launching sales in November, is in pre-construction phase.
“I saw how COVID affected the real estate market in South Florida, and I thought this Delray project was a great opportunity, and we got the land at a very attractive cost,” said Gussie Busch, 26. “I still think we are in the beginning phases of the Florida real-estate growth-expansion market, and I am bullish on the market in the South Florida region. I am expanding my family’s real estate portfolio and am looking for properties from Jupiter to Miami.”
The property was purchased for $3.9 million in March 2023, and the project was approved by the Delray Beach Site Plan Review and Appearance Board that same month.
Onix Delray Beach’s 26 residences, ranging in size from 1,400 to 2,200 square feet, are priced from $1.5 million to $2.25 million. Architect Norberto Loianno designed them. Interior details will include 10.5-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, and natural-wood and white-onyx finishes. Amenities will include a pool, clubhouse, gym, grilling area and EV charging stations. The building will also have 5,000 square feet of mixed commercial space.
Mike Bokzam, of the Boca Raton-based 1112 Development, owner of the property, said that groundbreaking is slated for April or May 2024, with a completion date 18 to 24 months later.
“Delray is just a really great area,” Bokzam said. “It woke up in the early 2000s and it offers night life and walking distance to the beach. The town capped the heights, so it’s a little bit more controlled with a small-town feel just north of Boca, centrally located between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.”
Sales are being handled by Lauren Mathews and Claudia Fisher, agents with Douglas Elliman.
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Ron Ellish, chairman and CEO of the Boca Raton-based Ellish Builders, recently received a $20 million construction loan from Centennial Bank for Delray Ridge, 2212-2285 Delray Ridge Lane, a gated development comprising 14 single-family homes. This loan follows the $5 million for acquisition and site development that Ellish Builders received from Centennial Bank a year and a half ago. Senior commercial loan officer Bill Bramlett led the financing for the bank. Priced from $4 million to $6 million, the houses range in size from 4,700 square feet to 6,600 square feet.
Delray Ridge is expected to be completed next year and seven homes have already been pre-sold. Jennifer Kilpatrick, a Corcoran Group agent, is handling sales for the project.
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Pebb Capital, developer of Sundy Village, a 7-acre development being built at 22 W. Atlantic Ave., has secured new leases. Tenants include Vertical Bridge, a company that owns and leases communication towers, data centers, wireless cells and billboards; Barcelona Wine Bar, a tapas restaurant chain; and Schulson Collective, a Philadelphia hospitality company founded by chef Michael Schulson. Additionally, Pebb Capital plans on moving its Boca Raton headquarters to Sundy Village.
Joe Freitas and John Criddle, of CBRE, oversee the Sundy Village office leasing. Sara Wolfe of Vertical Real Estate handles retail leasing.
Sundy Village is slated for completion in summer 2024.
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The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency received an award for its project “The Heart of Boynton Village apartments and shops,” from the International Economic Development Council, a nonprofit professional association for economic developers. The agency was acknowledged for addressing issues related to affordable housing, economic revitalization and community empowerment.
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A 7,339-total-square-foot Intracoastal Waterway estate on .83 acre at 2408 E. Maya Palm Drive, Boca Raton, previously owned by the late Patricia Payne Carpenter, sold for $23.5 million to Jeff Norman, president of Boca Raton-based JH Norman Construction Company. The D’Angelo Liguori team of Carmen D’Angelo, Joseph Liguori and Gerard Liguori, broker/owners of Premier Estate Properties, represented both sides in the deal.
Built in 1964 by architect Byron Simonson, a Mizner/Fatio protégé, the home was acquired for $500,000 in 1977 by William K. Carpenter, who later married Patricia Payne. She expanded the property with a guest house and a pool in 1987. Carpenter, a major supporter of local nonprofits like Boca Raton Regional Hospital, died in 2022.
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Right on time for the holiday travel rush and South Florida’s busy season, JSX public charter jet service is introducing new routes as of Dec. 21 running through spring 2024.
These include routes between the municipal airport in Morristown, New Jersey, to Boca Raton Airport and Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Another route connects Westchester County Airport in New York and Boca Raton Airport. Introductory fares start at $669 one-way.
“Our new flights offer customers much-needed peace of mind so they can focus on the festivities of the season and not the burdens of congested airports and unreliable airlines,” said JSX CEO Alex Wilcox. “Bypassing New York City and South Florida’s most congested airports brings an entirely new and attainable level of convenience and connectivity to travelers ready to fall in love with flying again.”
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Among Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards winners for Florida, in lists released in October, Four Seasons ranked No. 1, Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa ranked No. 2, and The Boca Raton ranked No. 3. The awards are based on 2023 surveys taken by 500,000-plus Condé Nast Traveler magazine readers who rated their travel experiences in various categories.
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The Research Park at Florida Atlantic University’s Global Ventures at Florida Atlantic received a 2023 Excellence in Economic Development Silver Award from the International Economic Development Council in September at the Dallas “Recognition Night” conference.
“Global Ventures was created to help second-stage entrepreneurs scale in South Florida. We identified a gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and developed a program to develop it,” said Andrew Duffell, president of the Research Park.
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The 2024 Niche “Best Schools” rankings placed Florida Atlantic University’s A.D. Henderson University School as the No. 3 public elementary school and No. 5 public middle school in the nation. The Niche website, which researches public and private K-12 schools, also ranked A.D. Henderson at No. 3 in Florida for public elementary, middle and high schools.
Its faculty was ranked No. 4 statewide for best elementary school teachers, as well as No. 2 for best middle school teachers and No. 3 for best high school teachers.
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Jim Kobrick is now Lifespace Communities’ Abbey Delray executive director. Previously, he served in operations roles for senior living organizations that include Harbor Retirement Associates, Meridian Senior Living, and Sunrise Senior Living.
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Boca Raton resident German Cabieses has become managing director of Alina Residences Boca Raton, 200 SE Mizner Blvd. Previously, he was the regional director for Castle Group, and he was managing director at Peninsula Community and Residences, Aventura.
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Patricia Nooney has joined Boca Raton-based Avison Young as principal and director of real estate management services for the Florida market. Previously, Nooney was president and principal at CRE Analytics Now LLC. She has also worked at Madison Marquette and CBRE.
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American Heritage Schools announced that 40 of its 2024 seniors from its Delray Beach campus were named National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists. American Heritage Schools, founded in 1965, is a private, nonsectarian, co-educational college preparatory day school with two 40-acre campuses serving approximately 4,800 students up to 12th grade.
Send business news to Christine Davis, cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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