Financiers, Beverage Bosses, Athletes Buy Homes

It’s nearly the busy season in South Florida, and deals are already closing across the region’s luxury markets. 

In the latest roundup of residential sales, financiers, beverage bosses and athletes bought homes in the tri-county area. Deals spanned Palm Beach to Miami, and ranged in price from $5.5 million to $8 million.

Palm Beach

In Palm Beach, Simon and Lisa Van Den Born bought the house at 259 Queens Lane from the estate of Stephanie Wrightsman for $6.6 million, records show. Tierney O’Hara of Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing, and Liza Pulitzer of Brown Harris Stevens brought the buyer.

Simon Van Den Born is president of Marex, a financial services company based in London. He previously worked as a portfolio manager at Valhalla Capital Advisors and in commodities at Goldman Sachs, according to LinkedIn.

Wrightsman, who died last year, bought the house for $160,000 in 1974, records show. Built on 0.2 acres in 1942, the home spans nearly 2,900 square feet, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and one half-bathroom, property records show. The home includes a pool, and is on one of the island’s North End streets that includes deeded access to a beach cabana, the listing shows. 

The home hit the market for $9.5 million in February, Redfin shows. The sale price falls $2.9 million below that asking price.

West Palm Beach

In West Palm Beach, attorney Mark Nylen bought a waterfront home in the El Cid neighborhood for $8 million. Records show Nylen bought the house at 2701 South Flagler Drive from Jay and Sally Nisberg. 

Dana Koch of the Corcoran Group had the listing, and Vincent Kessel of Compass brought the buyer. 

Nylen is a partner in the corporate practice of Boston-based law firm WilmerHale. Jay Nisberg is a management consultant and accountant in West Palm Beach. 

The Nisbergs bought the 0.3-acre South Flagler Drive property for $3 million in 2018, records show. Built in 1928, the 3,100-square-foot home includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one half-bathroom and a pool. The house overlooks Lake Worth across South Flagler Drive. 

The couple listed it for $8.3 million in July, Redfin shows. 

Boca Raton

John Fieldly, CEO of Celsius, an energy drink company headquartered in Boca Raton, and his wife, Ashley, bought a waterfront home there for $7.3 million. The couple bought the house at 794 v from Ernest and Jodi Perno, according to property records. 

Celsius launched in 2009 and recently emerged as one of the top contenders in the market.  

Matthew Moser and Nicholas Gonzalez of Serhant had the listing, and Ryan Kessell of Charles Rutenberg Realty brought the buyers.

The Pernos bought the 0.2-acre Boca Raton property for $2.5 million in 2017, according to property records. The home was built in 2003, and spans nearly 6,100 square feet, with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and includes a pool and a dock, the listing shows. The house also has a theater, bar and elevator, according to the listing.

The couple listed the home for $7.5 million in February, according to Redfin. 

Fieldly isn’t the only energy drink boss buying in South Florida. Jack Owoc, the ousted founder of Bang Energy, dropped a record $40 million on an oceanfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale last month. 

Miami

In Miami, baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez sold his waterfront house for $5.5 million. 

Records show Martinez and his wife, Carolina Cruz de Martínez, sold the home at 2032 Northeast 121st Road to Danny and Dafna Koshanfar. Danny Koshanfar is CEO of the financial services firm BizFund.

Tracy Abramowitz of Douglas Elliman had the listing, and Morgan Blittner and Lance Buttnick of Brown Harris Stevens brought the buyers.

Martinez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the league from 1992 to 2009, and spent the majority of his career with the Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Cruz de Martínez is a former ESPN Deportes sideline reporter.

The couple bought the house for $3 million in 2019, records show. Built in 2016 on 0.2 acres, the 5,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, one half-bathroom, a pool and a dock, the listing shows. The property spans 75 feet of waterfront. 

They listed the house for $5.9 million in August, according to Redfin. Property records show Martinez and Cruz de Martínez just bought a waterfront house at 16431 Northeast 34th Avenue in North Miami Beach for $3.5 million. The 2,900-square-foot home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a pool and a dock, records show.