A representative of the buyer, Garden Commerical, says billionaire Larry Ellison was not involved in purchase of Plaza del Mar shopping center across the street from Ellison’s Eau resort in Manalapan.
(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)
The Plaza del Mar shopping plaza in Manalapan has sold for a recorded $37 million at 201 S. Ocean Blvd., directly across the coastal road from the beachfront Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, which was purchased last summer by Oracle software billionaire Larry Ellison.
Ellison was not involved in the purchase of the shopping center, a representative of the buying entity told the Palm Beach Daily News in a Jan. 3 phone interview.
The billionaire’s name had regularly circulated in local real estate circles for the past few months as a possible buyer of the property in the wealthy town south of Palm Beach. In addition to owning the resort across the street, Ellison owns the largest estate in Manalapan.
Anchored by a Publix supermarket, the plaza had not changed hands in 18 years. With about 83,841 total square feet, Plaza del Mar was developed in 1983 and occupies 10.28 acres, property records show.
The deed recorded Dec. 30 lists the buyer as a Delaware entity, Manalapan Plaza del Mar LLC. That company is affiliated with privately held Garden Commercial of Short Hills, New Jersey, a division of residential and commercial development company Garden Homes. Founded in 1954, the company is owned and run by the billionaire Wilf family, according to online sources.
Garden Commercial’s Scott Loventhal, managing member of the buying entity, told the Daily News that Ellison played no role in the company’s purchase of the shopping center.
“We have not had any conversations with Larry Ellison or any of his representatives,” Loventhal said about the purchase.
He added: “(Ellison) is not — (n)or any of his affiliated companies — involved in the transaction at all.”
It’s unclear if Ellison or his representatives had approached the seller at some point about buying the property. Ellison and his representatives could not be reached for comment.
The center was sold by an affiliate of Evergreen Investment Advisors and Kitson & Partners, a Palm Beach Gardens-based commercial and residential real estate development firm.
The shopping plaza at the corner of East Ocean Avenue last sold in November 2006, when the property fetched a recorded $37.67 million during the real estate boom that preceded the Great Recession. The buyer in that sale was a Delaware-registered limited liability company named MSKP Plaza del Mar LLC. The same company also sold the property, according to the deed.
Terrence R. Holihen signed the deed to sell the property as vice president of MSKP Plaza del Mar LLC. Holihen also is a senior vice president of asset management for Kitson & Partners. He did not return a phone message left for him at his office.
In addition to Publix, the tenant roster of the shopping center includes John G’s restaurant, Thaikyo Asian Cuisine and The Ice Cream Club. The plaza also is home to apparel and gift boutiques that include Evelyn & Arthur, Chico’s and J. McLaughlin.
The Coastal Star first reported Dec. 19 that a sale of the shopping center was in the works. The Palm Beach Daily News reported the deal the day after the deed was recorded, and Garden Commercial released a statement announcing the sale three days later.
The purchase marks the return of the buyer’s parent company to South Florida, Loventhal told the Daily News. About 20 years ago, Gardens Homes developed properties in the Delray Beach and Boca Raton area, he said. The company already has a presence in the Tampa area, he added, and does business in New Jersey, other parts of the Northeast, California and other states, according to its website.
Having Publix as a tenant made Plaza del Mar especially attractive to the buyer, Loventhal said, as did the prominent role the shopping plaza plays in the area.
“The center almost serves as the downtown of Manalapan,” Loventhal said, describing it as “a commercial gathering place.”
“From our perspective, it was a low-risk retail acquisition that we think has the potential for growth through ‘re-tenanting,’” he said.
The new ownership has no “short-term” plans to redevelop the property,” Loventhal said. Stores with existing leases will continue to operate as usual but he did not rule out re-negotiating rents once those leases expire.
Plans call for filling vacant spaces in the plaza with new tenants, he added. The plaza could see some new short-term tenants this season, Loventhal said, in the form of so-called “pop-up” galleries or boutiques.
Loventhal and Michael Gartenberg, also of Garden Commercial, represented the buyer’s side of the latest sale. Negotiating for the seller was a team of commercial brokers at CBRE, including Casey Rosen, Dennis Carson Sriram Gajan and Michael Etemad. Garden Commercial will manage the plaza going forward, Loventhal said.
Manalapan grabbed international headlines in June 2022 when Ellison paid a recorded $173 million for a 22-acre estate at 2000 S. Ocean Blvd. on the south end of town, setting a new Florida residential record.
The billionaire made more Manalapan real estate news in August when paid a recorded $277.4 million for the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. He added the oceanfront property to his portfolio of hotel and resort properties. Among his changes at the Eau, he added a Nobu restaurant to the resort’s dining establishments.
Palm Beach real estate broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates brokered the deal in which Ellison bought his estate in Manalapan and also is said to have been involved in the sale of the Eau property. Moens has never confirmed his involvement in the resort transaction for the Palm Beach Daily News.
Ellison, who has acted as an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, on Jan. 3 had a net worth estimated by Forbes.com at $209.2 billion, making him the world’s third-richest person.