A Gulf Stream estate (center), which sits on more than 2 acres and has 200 feet of beachfront, sold for a town-record $39 million in June. Photo provided by Living Proof Photography
By Christine Davis
In a record-breaking $39 million deal for Gulf Stream, Debra A. Levitetz, the former wife of Purity Wholesale Grocers founder and chairman Jeffrey A. Levitetz, sold her eight-bedroom, 12,717-total-square-foot oceanfront estate at 3223 N. Ocean Blvd. in June.
The buyer, RSPS 3223 North Ocean LLC, is a Delaware-registered company. Candace Friis and Phil Friis, Corcoran Group agents, brokered the deal. Debra and Jeffrey Levitetz bought the home together for $12.5 million in 2001, and the home was deeded directly to her name two years later.
Built in 1995, the home is on a 2.15-acre lot with 200 feet directly on the ocean.
The mother-son Friis team also handled the previous record-setting deal for Gulf Stream: the $33 million sale of 3545 N. Ocean Blvd. in 2022.
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The State University System board of governors has adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of tax-exempt debt up to $117.75 million by the Florida Atlantic University Finance Corp. to finance the design, construction and equipment of a new seven-story, 670-bed, 204,000-square-foot student housing facility on the university’s main campus.
The unit mix will be single-occupancy three- and four-bedroom semi-suite units with shared bathrooms and a kitchenette.
The university is working with Coral Gables-based HKS Architects and has yet to select a general contractor.
It estimated the project would break ground in December and be open in time for the fall 2026 semester. The project’s $160,500 per-bed cost would be the highest for student housing at a state university, according to Florida board of governors staff. The university attributed that to inflation and current market conditions in Boca Raton.
Florida Atlantic University had 5,185 on-campus residents in 2024 out of more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It has six campuses.
A feasibility and demand study conducted by Brailsford & Dunlavey estimated total demand through fall 2026 at 1,066 beds, exceeding the proposed 670 beds, and recommended the university meet such demand via a phasing-in of several housing projects in the coming years.
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Brandon Waller was hired by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County as the federation’s new community security director.
Waller is assuming this role from Alan Poland, who was elevated to the Jewish Federation of North America Secure Community Network’s Florida regional director.
Waller previously served as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2003 to 2024. He served as a SWAT operator for more than 12 years while assigned to New York.
The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is part of a network of Jewish federations and communities that have partnered with Secure Community Network to launch or build upon existing community-wide security programs.
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The 2024 Palm Beach Solar Co-op initiative, organized by the national nonprofit Solar United Neighbors in partnership with local organizations, including the city of Boca Raton, aims to bring accessible clean energy and storm resilience to the Palm Beach County community.
This nonprofit has completed 85 solar co-ops across Florida since 2016, including four previous ones in Palm Beach County — in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 — in which 400 Palm Beach County households enrolled. Homeowners, nonprofits and small businesses in the county can still join for free until Sept. 6. To sign up, go to solarunitedneighbors.org/palmbeach.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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