Producer Marc Bell’s $35 million Boca Raton home includes a home theater
that replicates the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise.
Photo provided
By Christine Davis
In June, CNBC’s Secret Lives of the Super Rich featured Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys producer Marc Bell’s $35 million mansion, which is the priciest estate to hit the market in Boca Raton. With architectural features that defy classification, its out-of-this-world home theater replicates the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise, complete with a star-studded ceiling and some of the series’ sound effects.
The 27,000-square-foot home, with eight bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, also has a ballroom with 1970-era arcade games, a “Call of Duty” room modeled after the video game, three bars, a 1,500-bottle wine cellar, library, gym and basketball court. Douglas Elliman’s Senada Adzem, Oren and Tal Alexander are the listing agents in Florida and New York, respectively. A fun place to live, new owners are sure to beam in.
Adzem, the company’s Top Producer in Florida for 2012 and 2013, said the climate of luxury real estate is escalating, and understanding the nuances of that market helps her stay ahead of the curve. Within four months, she sold unit No. 406 at Boca Raton’s One Thousand Ocean for $5.7 million. The 4,287-square-foot condo has four bedrooms and bathrooms. According to the warranty deed dated June 3, Steven P. and Debra Raia and Steven P. Raia Living Trust were listed as the sellers and Mason Slaine as the new owner.
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Deborah Bacarella and Cathy Lewis of Elite Florida Real Estate received the Blue Diamond Circle Award from the Women’s Council of Realtors, Greater Palm Beach County. The award is given to Realtors who have achieved significant productivity standards and who are recognized as leaders in their industry.
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According to BauerFinancial ratings, three of the four banks with headquarters in Boca Raton achieved perfect five-star safety ratings in the first quarter. Paradise Bank remained at five stars, and 1st United Bank and First Southern Bank both moved to five stars, or “superior,” from four stars, or “excellent,” in the fourth quarter. The fourth Boca Raton institution, Legacy Bank, climbed to three stars, or “adequate,” from two stars, or “problematic.”
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Forty-one physicians on the medical staff at Boca Raton Regional Hospital were named “Top Doctors” by Castle Connolly, a research firm specializing in providing consumers with information about the nation’s best doctors and hospitals. From the firm’s surveys, a peer-recommended list was compiled and reviewed for standards including medical education, training, hospital appointments, professional achievements and any disciplinary or malpractice history.
This year’s list includes: David Applebaum, Plastic Surgery; Thomas Bartzokis, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology; Albert Begas, Medical Oncology; Brian Bernick, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Rafael Cabrera, Plastic Surgery; Julio Cardenas, Infectious Disease; Paul Christakis, Pediatrics; Frank Cirisano, Gynecologic Oncology; Joseph Colletta, Breast Surgery; Richard Conlen, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Merrill Epstein, Psychiatry; Lawrence Fiedler, Gastroenterology; Alan Freedman, Urology; Stuart Friedman, Allergy and Immunology; Howard Goldman, Ophthalmology; David Gross, Psychiatry; Donald Heiman, Infectious Disease; James Houle, Otolaryngology; Robert Johr, Dermatology; Mitchell Karl, Cardiovascular Disease; Cristina Keusch, Plastic Surgery; Alan Koletsky, Medical Oncology; Michael Krebsbach, Hand Surgery; Jan Kronish, Ophthalmology; Ira Lazar, Nephrology; Richard Levine, Geriatric Medicine; Mark Licht, Urology; Jeffrey Miller, Urology; Vito Proscia, Gastroenterology; Harold Richter, Hematology; Rolando Rodriguez, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism; Steven Rosenfeld, Ophthalmology; Mark Rubenstein, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology; Jonathan Seckler, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology; Stephen Servoss, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology; Jane Skelton, Medical Oncology; David Snyder, Ophthalmology; John Strasswimmer, Dermatology; Mark Weiner, Ophthalmology; Jerry Wexler, Pediatrics; and Mark Widick, Otolaryngology.
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Groundbreaking is scheduled early 2015 for Delray Medical Center’s new four-story tower, an expansion funded by Tenet Healthcare Corp. Once the new tower is up, the hospital will convert 96 semi-private rooms into single-patient rooms. “The additional 96 private-patient rooms will enable us to better serve our orthopedic, cardiology, neuroscience and oncology patients,” said Delray Medical Center’s CEO, Mark Bryan. The plans also include a 340-space parking garage and the fourth floor will be shelled for future expansion.
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The Fort Lauderdale-based Holy Cross Hospital is building a 7,844-square-foot urgent-care and imaging center at 1799 S. Federal Highway in Boca Raton. Scheduled to open in September, it will comprise six treatment and exam areas, and its imaging department will offer CT scans, digital X-rays, mammography and ultrasounds.
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Trader Joe’s South Florida devotees are ready, waiting and hungry. It did take a while, but the popular neighborhood grocery store chain that started in the Los Angeles area in 1958, has finally made it to Palm Beach County. Following a May kickoff of its store in Wellington, the company just announced opening dates for three more stores: Sept. 5 for its branch at 1851 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach; Sept. 26 for its store at 855 S. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; and Sept. 19 for its Palm Beach Gardens branch, at 2560 PGA Blvd.
For East Coasters not familiar with Trader Joe’s, the chain carries domestic and imported foods and beverages, including artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, international frozen entrees, deli items and vitamins, as well as basics like milk and eggs.
Why does the chain have such a following? While other grocers buy from distributors, Trader Joe’s purchases from manufacturers, taking a brand-name product, eliminating the preservatives and artificial colors and ingredients, and putting it under its Trader Joe’s label, selling it at a discount.
Trader Joe’s prices change when costs change, so the company does not offer fancy promotions, discount cards or couponing wars.
Also of note, Trader Joe’s introduces approximately a dozen new items every week, and to keep you updated, the store will send a copy of its “Fearless Flyer” to your mailbox or email box after the stores open.
Sign up at: traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/index.asp
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In May, Rick and Pat Howard of SKLAR Furnishings (2014 Small Business Leaders of the Year); Richard Pollock, president and CEO of the YMCA (2014 Business Leader of the Year); and Modernizing Medicine (2014 Business of the Year) were honored at the Boca Chamber’s 2014 Business Awards Luncheon. “We are enthusiastic to honor Rick and Pat, Richard and the entire team at Modernizing Medicine for their personal and professional contributions to the enhancement of Boca Raton and South Palm Beach County,” said Troy M. McLellan, president and CEO of the Boca Chamber.
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Events are lining up for Boca Chamber Festival Days, which run the month of August. In this community outreach, profit and nonprofit Boca Chamber members join forces to hold events open to the community aimed at raising awareness and funds for the nonprofit member’s philanthropic efforts.
• Kaye Communications Inc. invites the community to the fourth annual “White Coats-4-Care” awareness and fund raising reception to benefit Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, at Waterstone Resort & Marina. Reception admission is a pledge or donation of a minimum per-person gift of $100 to underwrite and dedicate a white coat for a new medical student or other contribution opportunities that range up to a $5,000 “Named” Medical Student Scholarship Fund. A pre-reception private lecture, from 4 to 5:15 p.m., “Modernizing Medicine: Building Software, Transforming Healthcare” will be presented by Modernizing Medicine. Contact Gisele Galoustian at ggaloust@fau.edu or call 297-2676, or register online at fauf.fau.edu/wc4c.
• Boca Chamber Festival Days kick-off breakfast, hosted and sponsored by NCCI, 901 Peninsula Corporate Circle, will be held from 7:45 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1. Speaker will be Betsi Kassebaum, founder and president of the Center for Strategic Philanthropy & Civic Engagement. Tickets are $25. Register online at web.bocaratonchamber.com/The_Chamber/
• Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation will host a James Bond-style theme party to raise money and benefit the foundation. The event will be held at Blue Martini in Boca Raton starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9.
The theme, “Bond With Us,” will include red carpet arrivals and a photo opportunity with the official Sean Connery of Palm Beach County, John Allen. VIP Gold Tickets, priced at $75, are limited, and VIP holders will receive early entrance, a private martini tasting (shaken, not stirred), special culinary treats, “buy now” auction pricing, a premium giveaway, two cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Silver Tickets are $50 per person.
Culinary offerings will include shrimp rolls, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Beef & Blue Cheese Bacon Wraps, and brie puff pastries. There also will be a turkey carving station as well as a variety of flatbread pizzas and salad. From 9 until 11 p.m., ladies will drink free; and at 10 p.m., there will be music by the La Linea Latin Band.
Tickets are available at www.giftoflife.org/tickets. Proceeds will go toward Gift of Life swab test kits, which allow labs to match donors. Blue Martini is located at 6000 Glades Road, Suite C-1380 in Boca Raton. For more event information, call 982-2932 or email events@giftoflife.org.
Based in Boca Raton, Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases.
• On Thursday, Aug. 14, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., the Boca Museum of Art will celebrate everything — sports, art, weather — that is the “Best of Florida.” Sip cocktails, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, browse the museum store, take a guided tour, listen to music, relax in a massage chair. Price is $15 per person or $20 at the door. The Boca Museum of Art is at 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Call 392-2500, Ext. 208.
• Another Festival Days event, and underwritten, in part, by Max’s Grille, Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation & Hospice by the Sea Foundation will host “Party to the Max!” on Tuesday, Aug. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Max’s Grille, Mizner Park, 404 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. All proceeds from this event benefit the organization’s specialized programs and services that are not reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance. These programs include charitable care, grief support, complex case management and music and integrative therapies. The cost is $25 per person, and includes one free drink and appetizers. For information, contact Mary Coleman at 416-5037 or email her at mcoleman@hpbcf.org
• The Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum will conduct two 90-minute guided tours of the Boca Raton Resort & Club, focusing on the hotel’s history and architecture, including Addison Mizner’s original Cloister Inn. Tours will begin at 2 p.m. and will be held on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30. Tickets are $15 per person and reservations must be confirmed by noon the day prior to each tour date. Call 395-6766, Ext. 101.
• Boca Helping Hands will offer an afternoon of fun, food and bowling at its Annual Bowling For Bread from 2 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 24, at Strikes @ Boca, 21046 Commercial Trail in Boca Raton. The best bowlers will receive trophies, and Boca Helping Hands will invite children from local nonprofits to come and bowl through sponsorships. For information, call 367-1193.
• To help raise money to provide music education to children with the greatest need and fewest resources, join Nat King Cole Generation Hope Inc. and Pride Global Management for “Culture & Cocktails,” at Arts Garage in Delray Beach from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 28. Guests will enjoy music performed by Arts Garage students, food, cocktails, and drawings. In addition, guests are encouraged to donate new or gently used brass, woodwind, percussion or string instruments, which will be repurposed and distributed to children who are unable to purchase their own. The price is $25 in advance, and $35 the day of the event. To purchase advance tickets or for more information, visit natkingcolegenhope.org or call 213-8209.
• On Aug. 30, from 7 to 9 p.m., Twin Palms Center for the Disabled will turn the Boca Raton Museum of Art into a “Wine Country Safari,” where guests will enjoy food by Mississippi Sweets with drinks from Total Wine & More and entertainment by Just Us Orchestra. Silent auction items include sporting memorabilia items, artwork, personal fitness sessions and a trip to Bimini Big Game Club and Resort with airfare.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Boca Raton Society for the Disabled Inc. Tickets to the event are priced at $25 per person, or $45 per couple. The Boca Museum is at 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. For information, call 391-4874.
To stay tuned to additional Festival Days events, go to www.bocaratonchamber.com and click on events. Scroll to the bottom of the page under the calendar and listing of upcoming events, and under “Category” choose “Boca Chamber Festival Days” in the drop-down menu.
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As phase one of a multiyear remodeling project, a $500,000 renovation at Crane’s BeachHouse Hotel & Tiki Bar will dramatically transform four suites into high-tech luxury villas to be completed this fall. Delray Beach companies involved include Carrie Leigh Designs, architect Francisco Pérez-Azúa of Perez Design LLC, and the construction will be managed by Bill Branning of BSA Corp.
More news from Crane’s: Based on customer reviews, Crane’s has again received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award 2014 and Fido’s Favorite Award from BringFido.com. Crane’s also received the Donal A. Dermody White Glove Award for housekeeping excellence from the Florida Superior Small Lodging Association, and Crane’s was named on the Expedia Insiders Select List. Crane’s BeachHouse is at 82 Gleason St., Delray Beach.
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The building that once housed Delray Beach's first Chevrolet dealership has won an award for its restoration. Photo provided
In June, at the 36th annual statewide Preservation Conference held in Tampa, the renovation of a local mid-century former Chevrolet dealership won Honorable Mention — 2014 Adaptive Reuse Award, given by the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Two grants from the Delray Beach CRA totaling $100,000 were awarded for historic façade reconstruction and site development work, and the 7,000-square-foot building was renovated by Caster Developers of Delray Beach. The project was nominated by Amy Alvarez, Delray Beach’s historic preservation planner.
The building, at northbound Federal Highway and Southeast Third Street, was constructed in 1949 as the first Chevrolet dealership in Delray Beach. Its original design, conceived by first-generation Delray Beach architect Sam Ogren Sr., was in the Subtropical Modernism style, with angled windows, low-slung rooflines, and lots of aluminum, a cost-effective and trendy choice at the time.
Caster Developers acquired the abandoned property in 2013 and made plans to redesign it into a modern showroom/loft style office building. It now serves as headquarters for 21 Drops, a manufacturer of aromatherapy products.
“This project is a winner from both historic preservation and economic development perspectives,” said Delray Beach CRA Executive Director Diane Colonna. “The ability of Caster Developers to preserve the integrity of this historic building, while transforming it into such a beautiful modern office space was truly a significant undertaking.”
Added Rick Caster, owner of Caster Developers: “Dozens of passers-by stop in and share their story about how they purchased their first car here, and how happy they are to see the building maintain so many of its original characteristics. We’re thrilled to have such positive feedback.”
Christine Davis is a freelance writer. Send business news to her cdavis9797@comcast.net.
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