Here are Buyers at Key International’s Sold Out Boca Beach

Boca Beach Residences in Boca Raton is completed, and buyers include a private equity honcho, sports executive, financiers and other industry moguls. 

Key International, Miami-based Integra Investments, and West Palm Beach-based Wexford Real Estate Investors partnered on developing the four-story, 32-unit condominium at 725 South Ocean Boulevard. The project received its certificate of occupancy in September, and closings began in the last few weeks.

Key International, the Miami-based firm of the Ardid family, bought the 3.2-acre development site from Blackstone Group in 2017 for $17.3 million. The developers launched sales for the project in 2019, and landed a $42.6 million construction loan in 2020 from Bank OZK. The building is directly across the street from the Boca Raton Resort & Club, which Blackstone sold to billionaire Michael Dell’s MSD Partners for $461.6 million in 2019. 

The Boca Raton market has shifted dramatically since the partners embarked on the development, Key International Co-President Inigo Ardid said.  “Pricing would be 50 percent higher if we were doing this today,” he said. “It’s pretty, pretty incredible.”

Ardid said the costs of both money and land are an obstacle to development in the current market. Still, he said, “There’s such limited inventory, especially in certain areas, that the market remains strong.”

Ardid also said building during the pandemic came with its lessons. “You have to buy out everything, pre-order everything as soon as possible, and have somebody fully tracking everything that has a lead time on it,” he said, although he believes the worst of the supply chain challenges are now in the rear view. 

Boca Beach Residences includes an 18-slip marina, a pool, spa and fitness facilities. Units range from 3,400 square feet to 5,000 square feet, with floor plans between one and four bedrooms, according to the condominium’s website. Miami-based Sieger Suarez Architects designed the building, and Raymond Jungles led the landscape design. 

Here are some of the buyers:

Richard Chaifetz | CEO & Chairman, ComPsych Corporation; Chairman, Chaifetz Group

Richard Chaiftez and his wife, Jill Chaiftez, dropped $4.8 million on unit 108 at Boca Beach Residences, records show. Richard Chaiftez is the founder of both the ComPsych Corporation and the Chaifetz Group. ComPsych is the nation’s largest provider of mental health services, according to its website. Chaifetz founded the firm in 1984. The Chaifetz Group, his private equity firm, has invested in companies such as Quip, Capsule and Cameo, as well as real estate developments across the county, according to its website. Both of Chaifetz’s businesses are based in Chicago. 

Brett Yormark | Commissioner, Big 12 Conference

Arguably one of the most powerful people in college athletics, Brett Yormark and his wife, Elaina Scotto, bought unit PH-8 for $3.6 million, according property records. Yormark is the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, a role he has held since August of last year. Prior to stepping into the Big 12 job, Yormark was CEO and president of business operations and strategy for Jay-Z’s entertainment agency, New York City-based Roc Nation. 

Dr. Miguel Octavio | physicist

Property records show Dr. Miguel Octavio and his wife, Dr. Kathleen Octavio, bought unit 102 for $5 million. Dr. Kathleen Octavio is an engineer with a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Dr. Miguel Octavio has a PhD in physics from Harvard University, the MIT Spectrum reported. In 2017, the couple won a $10.6 million settlement after Dr. Miguel Octavio was struck by a teenage driver and suffered a serious brain injury, according to published reports.

Eric Henschel | partner, Wolverine Trading

Eric Henschel and his wife, Laurie Henschel, bought unit 305 for $4.7 million, according to property records. Eric Henschel is a partner at Chicago-based Wolverine Trading, a financial services firm focused on proprietary trading and asset management. 

Robert Bellick | partner, Wolverine Trading

Another Wolverine Trading partner, Robert Bellick, and his wife, Sheryl Bellick, dropped $6 million on unit PH-4 at Boca Beach Residences, records show. Bellick has been with Wolverine Trading for 30 years, and previously worked on the floor of the American Stock Exchange, according to LinkedIn.