Semiconductor Honcho Buys Highland Beach Townhome for $8M
A photo illustration of Smith & Associates’ Lee Ackerley and 3621 South Ocean Boulevard (Getty, Google Maps, Smith & Associates)
The co-founder of a major semiconductor distributor bought an oceanfront Highland Beach townhome from the Florida Panthers’ former owner for $8.3 million.
Records show Leland Ackerley bought unit 2 at 3621 South Ocean Boulevard from Stuart Siegel. Corcoran’s Suzanne Petrizzi represented the buyer, and Catherine McGlennon of Engel & Völkers had the listing.
Ackerley, who goes by Lee, co-founded the semiconductor distributor Smith & Associates with his brother, Bob Ackerley, in 1984. Headquartered in Houston, the company was recently named the city’s largest family-owned business after earning a record-breaking $3.4 billion in revenue last year, the Houston Business Journal reported.
Siegel is the former owner and CEO of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers. He owned the team from 2008 until 2012, and in that time served as an NHL governor. Siegel founded the Waterloo, Ontario-based HockeyTech in 2012, which provides hockey-specific analytics and information services. He also manages holdings and investments through Siegel Enterprises, a Florida LLC.
Siegel bought the townhome for $6 million in December 2020, according to property records. The five-story unit, built in 2018, spans 5,500 square feet, and includes four bedrooms and six bathrooms, records show. The townhome also has a private elevator and plunge pool, according to the listing. McGlennon said Siegel customized the townhome, converting the entire second floor to a master suite.
Siegel downsized to a home on the Intracoastal Waterway, according to McGlennon. Records show he bought a home in Delray Beach for $2.7 million in October.
Ackerley also owns a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in Boca Raton. He bought the unit at the Chalfonte Condominiums in August 2020 for $1.2 million, records show. Petrizzi also represented him in that deal.
McGlennon said she and her client priced the townhome strategically high, and turned down a few lower offers.
“We believed in the strength of the real estate in Palm Beach County,” she said. High-end, newer construction has maintained strong pricing, despite the mellowing market, McGlennon added.
The Highland Beach townhome project was developed in 2019 by a partnership among Grafton Street Capital, Capital Development Group International and Halstatt Real Estate Partners.
The CEO of a Boca Raton-based investment firm bought one of the townhomes for $6.3 million in June of last year.
Mary Jane Fortin, the former president of Allstate Financial Services, bought a townhome in a separate Highland Beach development for $5.9 million in May, just a month after celebrity doctor Nicholas Perricone also bought a Highland Beach townhome for $6.8 million.
