Private equity executive E. Burke Ross Jr. sold his non-waterfront Palm Beach lot for $19.9 million, more than four times what he paid in 2014.
That’s one of the major residential sales and listings in Palm Beach County recently.
DRI Fund’s Steven Kirsch is asking for $74.9 million on his oceanfront Palm Beach mansion. And a Gulf Stream beachfront estate is asking for $79 million in its first potential sale in three decades.
Ross, president of Palm Beach-based ADEC Private Equity, sold the 0.45-acre empty lot at 214 Wells Road in the Adams Addition neighborhood. The buyer’s identity was obscured by a trust.
Ross and his wife, Susan, took their homestead exemption on the property this year, records show. They bought it in 2014 for $4.4 million. The sale marks a 350 percent increase in value over 12 years.
Property records show the home next door was renovated in 2024 and sold in February for $20.5 million.
Ross sold a Palm Beach home, at 172 South Ocean Boulevard, for $45.6 million in 2021.
1540 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach
A waterfront estate on Palm Beach’s Billionaires Row listed with an asking price of $74.9 million.
An entity linked to Kirsch, managing director of the private-equity firm DRI Fund, is looking to sell the 0.98-acre property at 1540 South Ocean Boulevard, which it purchased for $9.5 million in 2022.
The asking price pencils out to $4,993 per square foot of living space. If the home sells for that much, it’ll mark a more than 600 percent increase in value since the last time it sold.
The 15,000-square-foot home was newly built last year to have eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and three half baths split between the main and guest houses. It also includes a basement, theater and beachside cabana with plans for a plunge pool on the sand.
It’s the only new construction home on the ultra-luxury strip known for its high-profile residents.
Margit Brandt has the listing. She noted the estate comes with “every imaginable amenity” and said it’s built for privacy and for entertaining.
1919 North Ocean Boulevard, Gulf Stream
A secluded waterfront mansion in Gulf Stream once belonging to the late Carl W. Smith, a former University of Virginia football player and businessman, is listed for $79 million.
Smith and his wife, Hunter, bought the property east of Delray Beach for $3.6 million in 1996. The estate spanning 15,700 square feet was built in 1998.
Smith donated $25 million to his alma mater in 1997. He was head of the AMVEST Corp., an energy company. He died in 2005.
The home is owned by a trust named for the Smith family.
The property spans about 2.5 acres. It includes a 10,000-square-foot, six-bedroom main house, a 4,300-square-foot guest house, two guest casitas and a gatehouse.
John and Lisa Cregan of Sotheby’s International Realty have the listing.
18714 Rio Vista Drive, Jupiter
Robert Lerman sold his Jupiter waterfront home at 18714 Rio Vista Drive for $13.8 million, more than five times what he paid for it in 2016. He bought the home a decade ago for $2.7 million.
The home was torn down in 2017 and rebuilt in 2020 by Jupiter-based Neandross Estate Homes. It has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a half-bath, along with a private dock on the Loxahatchee River.
Leslie and Marguerite Gelber were the buyers. Michele Locke of Fine Living Realty of the Palm Beaches represented the seller, and Matthias Fretz of Douglas Elliman represented the buyers.
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