Actor Kevin James downsized a bit with this 18,906-square-foot home. Photo provided
By Christine Davis
Returning to Delray Beach but downsizing his domicile, actor Kevin James bought an 18,906-square-foot, six-bedroom oceanfront estate and guest house in the 300 block of North Ocean Boulevard. The King of Queens TV show actor paid $14 million, under his real name, Kevin Knipfing, according to public records dated Feb. 3.
In 2016, James sold his eight-bedroom, 26,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion at 502 N. Ocean Blvd. for $26.375 million. The seller in the recent transaction was N Ocean Capital 344 LLC, a Florida limited liability company linked to National Realty Investment Advisors.
Randall Stofft Architects with Stofft Ikasu Interiors completely renovated, redesigned and upgraded the estate. Amenities of the property include a resort-like T-shaped pool, a loggia with a summer kitchen and fireplace, entertainment lounge, wine cellar, covered terraces, a master suite comprising the third floor and a five-car garage.
Nicholas Malinosky of Douglas Elliman represented NRIA, and Jack Elkins of William Raveis represented James in the recent purchase.
Ray Miller, successor trustee of the EPC Residence Trust, and Jeffrey A. Levitetz, settlor of the EPC Residence Trust, sold the waterfront home at 5001 Egret Point Circle in Boca Raton’s Sanctuary neighborhood for $15.75 million. The buyer is Barry J. Shkolnik as trustee of the Romona Road Trust. The sale was recorded on Jan. 29.
Levitetz is chairman of Boca Raton-based Purity Wholesale Grocers. Shkolnik is an attorney at Nixon Peabody LLP in Chicago.
The seven-bedroom estate, with 21,607 square feet, sits on a one-acre lot. It includes a separate guest house, a pool, and 560 feet fronting the water on three sides, according to the listing, which was held by Carmen N. D’Angelo Jr., Gerard P. Liguori and Joseph G. Liguori of Premier Estate Properties.
Morgan Properties, a large national apartment owner, recently acquired a portfolio of 48 apartment communities and 14,414 units in 11 states for $1.75 billion. The Morgan Properties and Olayan America joint venture purchased the North Star Portfolio from STAR Real Estate Ventures. As part of this acquisition, Morgan Properties hired 400 new employees and, in the Boca Raton area, acquired 712 units including the Camino Real Apartments at 33 E. Camino Real.
The company plans to open a regional office in Boca Raton to serve its expansion in the southeast region.
Atlantis resident Amy Snook was installed as the Women’s Council of Realtors president for Florida for 2021 during its virtual and in-person midwinter convention in West Palm Beach.
Snook is a partner in the All About Florida Homes team of Lang Realty, along with partner Noreen Payne of Delray Beach. She has been practicing real estate and title insurance for 19 years.
Snook is a director of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale, and a director of Florida Realtors.
John Campanola, an agent at New York Life’s South Florida general office, in February qualified as an Elite member, meaning he is recognized as one of the company’s leading retirement-solutions professionals. Campanola, a longtime Florida resident and a graduate of Leadership Delray, is involved in the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce on various committees and organizations. He is also chairman of the Boynton Business Professionals leads group.
Mindy King is now Florida Peninsula Insurance’s director of customer experience. The company is in Boca Raton. Previously, King was the director of customer experience for Thyssenkrupp Elevator as well as the director of customer insights and market intelligence at Tyco Integrated Security. King earned a bachelor of science degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.
Steven Chase, director at SafeRide America, a 10-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has formed the Jordan Wachtell Foundation in Palm Beach County. The foundation was launched on Jan. 30 along with SafeRide Services, a designated driver for hire, in southeast Florida. That was the one-year anniversary of the death of Chase’s best friend, Jordan Wachtell, who was killed by a drunk driver.
George Anagnostou, owner of the Copperfish Kitchen restaurant at Boca Center, hosted the grand opening ceremony.
Chase gives this description of how SafeRide helps people get home after drinking alcohol on a night out: “Our professional driver gets in your car with you and drives, while the second SafeRide driver follows behind as a chase driver. While DUI-related deaths have been greatly reduced over the past two decades, even a single death that is preventable is a tragedy.
“In addition to alcohol, we now have to combat the negative impact of prescription drugs and driver distraction due to things like texting and driving.”
For more information, visit https://saferideamerica.org.
A patent-pending video compression technology, developed by researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, was recently acquired by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. The FAU research team includes Hari Kalva, Ph.D. and Borko Furht, Ph.D. They are working on the project with Robert J.L. Moore, president of IP Solutions, and Velibor Adzic, Ph.D., director of product development at Videopura LLC.
Compression technology is important for streaming high-quality video.
“The cutting-edge inventions developed by professors Kalva and Furht related to video compression technology have the potential to become essential patents for the new VVC standard,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Over the next 20 years, we anticipate that this FAU-invented technology will be available on all devices with screens sold worldwide — from smartphones to tablets to autonomous vehicles.”
The Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum with Boca Raton Innovation Campus presents “Today’s Technology Scene & Expectations for the Future” at noon March 9. It is part of a free virtual series titled “Tech Talks: The Evolution of Tech & Innovation in Boca Raton.”
Panelists will include Daniel Cane of Modernizing Medicine, Andrew Duffell from FAU’s Research Park, and Angelo Bianco with Crocker Partners, owner of BRIC. The panel will be moderated by Jessica Del Vecchio, manager of economic development for the city of Boca Raton.
The 45-minute discussion can be viewed on BRIC’s channels on YouTube and Facebook.
Others underwriting the panel discussion are the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, and Discover the Palm Beaches.
The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County is hosting a free discussion, “Women in Economics,” at noon March 17 via Zoom, with guest speaker Kelly L. Small-ridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
Smallridge, who received the 2013 Governor’s Ambassador Medal in recognition of her work in creating jobs in the county, has landed relocations and expansions from companies such as United Technologies, Amazon, ADT, Pratt & Whitney, G4S, FedEx, Sikorsky Helicopters, Aldi, and TBC Corp.
Register for the webinar at https://lwvpbc.org/events.
The Greater Lantana Chamber of Commerce and the town are conducting an adopt-a-tree program in celebration of Lantana’s 100th anniversary. The goal is to plant 100 trees throughout Lantana’s parks and properties, enhancing public spaces while giving individuals, groups and organizations the opportunity to honor or memorialize their loved ones, friends and associates.
Adopting a tree costs $150, which includes installation and personalization of a plaque.
To participate, visit www.lantanachamber.com/town-centennial.
In an open enrollment underway through April 30, Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans is offering five plans, starting at $45 per month, which are designed to help families maximize college savings and lock in the future costs of college. Every prepaid plan is guaranteed by the state, and a student has up to 10 years after high school graduation to use the plan. For more information, families can use the prepaid plan pricing tool at www.myfloridaprepaid.com.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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