We all know the market is certainly in bad shape, but sometimes it helps to put things into perspective to really look at the progression of a single property over time. Consisting of two combined waterfront lots and a sanctuary, the Waterfront Blossom Estate on Ocean Blvd. excellently portrays the evolution through time in the real estate market.
Standard Oil heir Charles W. Bingham first deeded the property to his daughters in 1919. In November 1942, the Bingham-Bolton-Blossom family extended a 99-year lease on the northern part of their property to the Audubon Society. Mary Blossom Lee acquired the property following her mother, Elizabeth Blossom’s death. Figulus, the main house, was placed in the National Register in 1972, but was demolished only two years later. A decade later, Lee’s heirs sold the property to developer Michael Burrows for only $5.8 million, who divided the entire estate into nine lots.
Reed Krakoff bought the lakefront acreage adjacent to the Audubon Society bird sanctuary for $9.4 million. As Executive Creative Director and President of Coach Inc., Krakoff retained architect Richared Meier to design a house for the South Ocean Boulevard property. With the deed filed Dec. 17, Krakoff has sold the vacant 5.98-acre parcel to attorney Ronald S. Kochman for $10.65 million.
Although it is difficult to measure the outright the changes in these prices as the acerage was dispersed, we can see the incredible difference in value, as the property sold to Meier was once listed for $19.75 million according to Palm Beach County Property Appraisers, yet it shows a current appraised value of only $10.7 million. While the dip in prices surely means trouble, those such as Krakoff on the selling side of the deal, would agree that Meier caught quite the bargain on this waterfront property.
