Oceanfront lots on Seaview Avenue facing empty parcel sell for nearly $9 million
Two vacant lots on Seaview Avenue facing an empty beachfront parcel across South Ocean Boulevard have changed hands in a single transaction for $8.95 million, according to the price on the warranty deed recorded Wednesday by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office. The deed recorded the multi-lot purchase as a single transaction.
A Michigan-based gift trust in the name of Lisa M. Saur bought the three parcels, which together measure a little more than two-thirds of an acre and offer direct ocean views. Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate represented the trust, which late last month sold a home it owned at 416 Brazilian Ave.
The two contiguous lots at 102 and 110 Seaview Ave. and the smaller oceanside parcel were owned by Seaview Partners, a limited liability company associated in Florida business records with Donald R. and Irene Dizney. The couple owns a home at 313 Dunbar Road and property records link them to another oceanfront parcel on South Ocean Boulevard.
Agent Jim McCann of the Corcoran Group had listed the Seaview Avenue parcels for sale for a combined $10.9 million. The two largest lots can accommodate a home of up to 8,000 square feet “and more if a basement is included in your plans,” McCann’s sales listing said.
The parcel directly on the ocean — with 100 feet of beachfront — is suited for a cabana and seaside swimming pool, McCann said.
Dated April 16, the warranty deed links the address of Lisa and Mark Saur’s home in Ada, Mich., to the trust that bought the lots.
Mark Saur founded Old Orchard Brands, a Sparta, Mich.-based fruit-juice company. Howard Veltman, listed as a trustee on the deed, is identified in public records as Old Orchard Brands’ chief financial officer.
The Saurs also own Apple Valley Holdings, which has been listed in public records as a part owner of Old Orchard Brands.
Angle would not confirm his clients’ names but said they plan to build a custom home for themselves on the property.
“They’re very excited about building a home here,” Angle said. “They’ve made a commitment to Palm Beach.”
The Saurs and the Dizneys could not be reached for comment.
‘Resurgence of buyers’
Angle, who wouldn’t comment further on specific details of the deal, said the lot sale is another good sign that the island’s market for custom and “spec” homes is strengthening. In addition to other sales of vacant lots, Angle also pointed to a number of homes sold on the North End whose new owners plan to replace them with custom or spec houses, he said.
Angle’s view was echoed by McCann, who noted the relative lack of new construction on the island over the past two years in the custom- and spec-home markets when compared to the amount of activity that took place during the boom years.
“Vacant land languished for so long,” McCann said. “There’s interest in that kind of construction. Overall, we’re seeing a resurgence of buyers in the market. They’ve decided it’s safe to go back in the water.”
Other deals
The Dizneys had bought the lots through the limited liability company in December 2004 for $6.55 million and subsequently razed a pair of houses on the western parcels. Ronald Dizney is chairman of Windermere-based United Medical Corp., a company he founded in 1973. Though its affiliates, the company owns and operates specialty and acute-care hospitals while offering a variety of other diversified services, according to its website.
A horse breeder and trainer, Ronald Dizney also owns Double Diamond Farm, an equestrian facility in Ocala, and is active in the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.
In March, the Saur trust sold the home on Brazilian Avenue it had bought new for $7.45 million in December 2010. That house had replaced James Hunt Barker’s home, which was destroyed in a 2008 house fire that killed James Heyman, who was living at the house of the longtime Palm Beach art dealer.
Angle represented the trust when it bought the Brazilian Avenue house and sold it to a New Jersey-based trust associated with brothers Richard and Jeffrey Feinstein, who were represented in the deal by Lawrence A. Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates. Richard Feinstein said he and his wife, Carol, will use the house as a vacation residence.
The Dizneys are associated in public records with a vacant lot at 516 S. Ocean Blvd., which was acquired for a recorded $6.2 million last August in what was described as a private “trade transaction” by Corcoran agent Dana Koch.
Koch represented the seller of that property, a limited liability company associated with Amy Feldman.
In return, an entity linked to the Dizneys and represented by McCann, sold Feldman’s company a luxury condominium in the oceanfront Las Ventanas development at 102 Gulfstream Road for $5.7 million. Feldman has since put the property in her name.