161 Clarke Avenue SELLS for $4.25 Million!!
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Bath and Tennis restoration earns a Ballinger Award!
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100 El Bravo Way - designated a Palm Beach Landmark
Palm Beach Daily News
November 2011
The house at 100 El Bravo Way was originally built in 1922 by Marion Syms Wyeth, and underwent a 1930 addition by Howard Major.
But it has been so altered in the decades since that, were Wyeth or Major to visit it today, they would not recognize most of it. Their contributions are now remnants within a much larger house, much of which was designed by Smith & Moore Architects in 2000.
After a long debate, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 5-2 on Wednesday to recommend that the Town Council designate the Mediterranean Revival mansion a landmark.
The commission struggled with the question of whether the house, despite its origin and beauty, is truly representative of the work of a master architect after many alterations over the decades.
Jane Day, the town’s landmarks consultant, said it is worth preserving.
“Buildings change over time,” she argued. “That doesn’t make it unworthy of designation.”
As long as Wyeth’s and Major’s contributions can be detected, the alterations aren’t important, Day said. The entrance door, a tower and the “U-shape” of the original house are still there, she said.
James Brindell and John Garner, an attorney and a historic preservation expert, argued on behalf of house’s owners, Kenneth and Kathleen Tropin, that it should not be designated.
“Most of what you see there today is Smith and Moore, not Wyeth or Major,” Brindell said.
Garner contended the changes have left the integrity of the original structure compromised.
The town has landmarked 31 homes that are far better examples of Wyeth’s 1920s work, Brindell said. He added that Major didn’t like Mediterranean Revival and is known for other architectural styles.
Commissioners William Cooley and Dudley Moore dissented in Wednesday’s 5-2 decision to landmark the house, saying it doesn’t represent the work of Wyeth or Major.
“It’s a fine property and should be retained,” Cooley said. “Does it meet the criteria of our code? No.”
The town will do a disservice to its landmark program if it designates a house “that has been essentially rebuilt,” Cooley said. “You have 10 percent of a house that meets the criteria, and 90 percent that doesn’t.”
But Commission Chairman Edward “Ted” Cooney countered that “nothing would get designated” if the commission insisted that each landmarked building purely reflect the original architect’s work.
“Parts of the original do remain and deserve reverence,” said Commissioner William Feldkamp, who voted with Cooney. “A bedrock issue of preservation in Palm Beach is the concept of growth over time.”
Feldkamp said he wasn’t sure the house represents the work of a notable architect, builder or designer. But that, he noted, is only one of the four criteria within the town’s landmarks ordinance. A building can be landmarked if it meets only one of the four.
Day said the house meets three of the criteria.
Besides representing a master builder, it reflects the town’s social history because of parties that occurred there in the 1920s, and it embodies architecture that is valuable for study, she said.
2012 Forbes Travel Guide Ratings
By DAVID ROGERS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Updated: 12:05 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011
Posted: 6:35 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011
Visitors to Palm Beach expect hotel accommodations to be of the highest quality. If the 2012 Forbes Travel Guide ratings are any indication, that expectation is being met.
Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, has awarded five-star ratings to The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach and the Four Seasons Resort, Palm Beach for 2012, and has also awarded The Breakers a four-star rating. The Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons are the only hotels in Florida awarded five stars by Forbes.
Jayne Griswold, executive vice president of Forbes Travel Guide, said she is not surprised that Palm Beach has a cluster of highly rated hotels.
“It’s such a playground for America to flock to when we are getting bombarded up North” by winter weather, Griswold said.
Colin Clark, general manager of the Four Seasons, said his staff is delighted to have been awarded the honor again. The Four Seasons has been designated a five-star hotel by Forbes since 1999.
“As well as being a stunning location on the sand dunes and the great food, the spa and so forth, it’s all about the folk that are working here,” Clark said. “We believe it’s a warm, cohesive team that makes it happen.”
The Four Seasons staff works every day to provide personal, memorable service for guests, he said. “We have a sense of ownership and take pride in what we do,” Clark said. As an example, a housekeeper spotted a hand-written sign on a guest suite door not long ago. It was created by a woman with a sleeping baby. She wasn’t certain the standard “Do Not Disturb” sign would be effective, Clark said. The housekeeper had a custom Do Not Disturb sign, featuring the image of a baby rattle, created for the woman’s door. “We do that now for all guests with a crib and a baby,” Clark said. “It’s little touches like that that get talked about and bring tears to your eyes.”
Michael King, general manager of Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, located in nearby Manalapan, said maintaining standards to continually earn high ratings is the real challenge.
“It’s a total focus on service excellence and attention to all the details — and we do that every day,” King said.
This is the fourth year in a row The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has earned five stars from Forbes Travel Guide. A $130 million renovation of The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, which included the construction of the Eau spa in 2009, also played a role in helping the Ritz garner five stars, he said.
Forbes Travel Guide sends inspectors to each candidate hotel several times a year before granting a coveted five-star designation, Griswold said. “We look for consistent service delivery, which is intuitive on behalf of the staff members as well as anticipatory and really is going to be near flawless,” Griswold said.
Anticipating its guests’ needs, The Ritz-Carlton recently added a citrus sommelier, King said. “Everybody wants fresh citrus, whether it’s for your morning breakfast or an afternoon cocktail,” King said. In 2010, the hotel added a “pool diva” and “vibe manager” to its staff as part of a push to create a more hip environment. Recently a guest left his passport in his room at The Ritz. The hotel dispatched an employee by car to the Fort Lauderdale Airport, while alerting airport security to the issue.
“It’s not terribly difficult to do. It’s not rocket science, but it makes a difference,” King said.
Forbes has added an interactive component to its hospitality guide. By visiting startle.com , individuals can learn more about the hotels that Forbes rates.
“What we had previously was a website that was just a listing of our properties and their ratings. It did not provide hotels a voice in engaging in the travel discussion. We have built this platform to give our three-, four- and five-star properties an opportunity to engage directly with their guests. There is a social component to the site that is key. They can message each other either publicly or privately. And most importantly, the user of the site can book direct to the hotel without a third-party intervention,” Griswold said. The travel guide executive said her organization is not a booking agent and does not receive commissions for reservations accessed through the site.
Evans Report: 2011 seeing increase in real estate sales
September 2011
Palm Beach Daily News
By:Darrell Hofheinz
The increase both reflects lower home prices and more confidence in the island’s real estate market, said Leslie Evans, the Palm Beach real estate attorney and property owner who prepares the reports.
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Bloomberg chief buys landmarked home at 210 El Bravo Way.
July 2011
Palm Beach Daily News
By: Darrell Hofheinz
Bloomberg L.P. Chairman Peter T. Grauer and his wife, Laurie, have paid about $6.98 million for the landmarked 1931 home of Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings at 201 El Bravo Way, according to a warranty deed recorded Tuesday by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office.
Real estate agent Crista Ryan of Tina Fanjul Associates acted on behalf of the Grauers, who have another home in Greenwich, Conn. The couple owns no other property in Palm Beach County under their names, property records show.
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Analysis: Sales of homes, condos rising.
April 2011
Palm Beach Daily News
By: Darrell Hofheinz
As real estate agents across Palm Bech report that The Island’s housing market has strengthened considerably over the past three months, a new real estate analysis confirms that this upward trend had its roots in 2010.
The latest Evans Report compiled by Palm Beach property owner and real estate attorney, Leslie Evans, shows that The Island enjoyed a much rosier home-sales picture in 2010 than it did in 2009.
But prices at which homes sold were a stickier matter, with median prices flat last year for single-family houses and lower for condominiums. The median price is the price at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.
“In a deflationary period, people don’t buy because they are waiting for prices to drop further,” Evans notes. “But the report shows that by the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, prices had pretty much bottomed out, and people started buying again.”
Market for Vacation Homes - on the Rise!
April 2011
Palm Beach Daily News
By S. MITRA KALITA
Sales in many vacation communities across the U.S. soared last year to levels not seen since boom times, driven by deep discounts, cash purchases and buyers’ rising stock portfolios.
On Mercer Island, Wash., waterfront sales nearly tripled in 2010, compared with a year earlier, reaching par with 2006 volume there. Sales on Hilton Head Island, S.C., rose 14% for the year. Palm Beach, Fla., experienced a 40% annual increase and a 54% increase in homes under contract, indicating an especially strong fourth quarter. Palm Beach sales volume now is comparable to its 2007 peak. These figures were gleaned by brokers in each locale.
“The proverbial train has left the station,” said Ned Monell, an agent with Sotheby’s International Realty in Palm Beach. “We haven’t felt energy like this in a long time. Buyers sense that they’ve been on the sidelines long enough.”
The question now is whether the momentum will last. The strength of second-home sales paints a stark contrast to the overall housing market, which is expected to worsen in 2011.
Existing-home sales in November rose 5.6% on an annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors, a trade and lobbying group. Last month, the Case-Shiller housing index of 20 cities showed prices across the U.S. fell in October, and most analysts predict another 5% to 10% slide in the coming year.
Data for the nationwide vacation-home market aren’t tracked regularly. The National Association of Realtors conducts an annual survey of home buyers, but results for 2010 won’t be out till March.
Yet the market for vacation homes, based on local sales data, appears to be booming. The comeback, NAR economist Lawrence Yun said, has been helped by gains in the stock market and an improving economy, which have made wealthier Americans more upbeat about the future. “It also implies that prices in some markets have come down so much that people are fighting for those properties,” said Mr. Yun, noting that demand is strongest in areas close to stable labor markets.
According to the NAR, one in 10 real-estate transactions in 2009 was for the purchase of a vacation home. And though a small fraction of the overall market, it is significant because vacation homes are often big-ticket properties and attract discretionary buyers. Just four houses sold last year on Madeline Island, Wis., for example, but the island’s average dwelling sells at two to three times the price of the county average, said Eric Kodner, a realty broker on the island.
Sales of second homes are showing an uptick even in more-affordable communities. In some locations, prices are even inching upward. Cape Cod sales climbed nearly 9% in 2010 from 2009, while prices rose 7%. Monroe County, Pa., in the heart of the Pocono Mountains, saw a 3% decline in transactions, but its Lake Naomi resort community was up nearly 15%. A one-acre plot off Lake Naomi recently fetched $1.1 million, a record deal for the area.
Still, in most markets where demand has improved, prices haven’t. For Realtor Andy Twisdale in Hilton Head, S.C., it is too soon to rejoice; prices are down almost a third over the past five years. “People are buying at the very low end of the product,” he said. “The financing is very difficult. Banks are requiring 25% down and crystal clean credit.”
Buyers who qualify or can pay cash say this is the time to take the plunge. On New Year’s Day, the Makarewicz family arrived in Pocono Pines, Pa., to look for a vacation home. They already own their primary residence in northern New Jersey and own a property in Damascus, a northeastern Pennsylvania town along the Delaware River. But the family says the latter doesn’t offer enough things to do: Not enough shopping. Not enough activities for kids. Not even enough fish.
“How’s the bass here?” Joe Makarewicz, a vice president for sales at a financial-services firm, asked Re/Max Realtor Rob Baxter as the two looked at floor plans.
The family plans to sell the Damascus house, which would allow them to pay cash for one near Lake Naomi. The resort community at Lake Naomi boasts pools, tennis courts, a recreation center and a golf course—and is equidistant from New York and Philadelphia.
Some second homes had been stuck on the market because sellers wouldn’t budge on price; unlike owners of primary homes, they often aren’t in a hurry to move.
“Sellers have become aware that they have to price their homes accordingly,” said Harald Grant, a senior vice president at Sotheby’s in New York’s ritzy Hamptons region. “There’s a perk in the market because a lot of prices have come down to where they should be.”
This shift became clear to K. David Hirschey, who runs a consulting business in Minneapolis, as he hunted for a home on Madeline Island.
After competing in a summer swimming competition on the island, Mr. Hirschey decided to buy a home there, perhaps to rent it a few years and maybe retire there eventually. The first offer he made was rejected, he recalled, because the seller said, “We don’t negotiate on properties here.” The same thing happened with his bid on the next house.
Then he found a third property—four bedrooms, three baths—that began as a sale by owner, was taken off the market, then relisted under one broker, then another. It had been initially priced at $1.25 million, and remained on sale for two years.
“When I saw it, it was listed at $687,000,” said Mr. Hirschey, a father of four children. He offered $530,000, furnishings included. “They wanted to negotiate and I said no,” he said.
The tactic—an all-cash offer—worked, and Mr. Hirschey closed on the house in November, just in time for his family to spend the holidays there.
CARIBBEAN OFFICE NOW OPEN!
Tina Fanjul Associates is pleased to announce the opening of a new offfice in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic. Located in the heart of the Casa de Campo Marina, our office is ready to list your property or find you the perfect vacation home!
Brandt, Baker form The Next Step Realty Network
from PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS (See Original Article)
Blair Brandt’s idea for a referral service targeting college grads seeking rentals was prompted after he was inundated with calls and e-mails from friends asking if he knew a broker in cities where they’d landed jobs.
Seeing an untapped market, Brandt — a recent University of Richmond graduate — joined forces with Belton Baker, a friend in Palm Beach since high school and now a senior at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
In April, Brandt, 22, and Baker, 21, co-founded The Next Step Realty, a web-based business that connects recent college graduates entering a new market with a team of affiliate real-estate brokers who have a specific interest in working with young post-grads. Their website, www.TheNextStepRealty.com, debuted in May.
“The brokers we are working with are young up-and-coming types who are eager to build up their clientele with promising graduates,” Brandt said. “While the initial request is for a rental, considering the age group and financial parameters of men and women just starting their careers, these brokers can see the potential for a continuing relationship — these people may turn into buyers down the road.
“It’s a kind of matchmaking service,” said Brandt, who has signed up 35 brokers in 17 cities. Student clients are introduced into the system through referrals from The Next Step’s initial contact base of 400 on several college campuses.
The pair expect that the initial contact base — friends and friends of friends — will continue to expand each graduation season, primarily April to July.
“Social networking and viral marketing are key when trying to spread the word about what our service offers,” Baker said.
The real-estate savvy Brandt serves as the company CEO, with Baker, who is focused on the communications and public relations aspects of the business, serving as The Next Step’s COO. The company receives a percentage of the affiliate broker’s commission once a referral customer has signed a lease.
The company, based in Palm Beach, is an associate of Tina Fanjul Associates Inc., an island real-estate firm.
At start-up, most of Next Step’s efforts focus on the New York market. “This is where most of the action is with our contact base,” said Brandt, adding that the firm has signed up about 100 clients looking for apartments in Manhattan and surrounding areas. They are working with one of 10 New York City brokers affiliated with the Next Step realty network.
“The concept with The Next Step Realty is innovative, as it is focusing on a market that is not being targeted by other real estate firms around the country,” said Crista Ryan, associate manager of Tina Fanjul Associates. Brandt and Baker’s concept has great potential for future expansion, she said. “These young adults need someone they can trust who can guide them through the process of contracts, deposits and payments on leases.
“I was just in New York City with my sons, helping them find a place to live,” Ryan said. “They searched the web, went to sublease and rental agencies, and met with a Next Step Realty associate. The only person that they kept calling back for advice was the Next Step broker. He showed them some great options and successfully helped them negotiate a sublease for the summer that could turn into a yearly rental.”
Ryan said she knew her sons would become repeat customers of The Next Step Realty-affliiated broker.
Brandt and Baker may eventually expand their service to include graduate and professional school students, with an eye toward corporate relocation referrals as well.
“Right now, our niche is college graduates,” Brandt said. “Our goal is to make this the network that revolutionizes and eases the process of how promising graduates find homes after campus.”
By ROBERT JANJIGIAN
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The Next Step Realty works with brokers in New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Richmond, San Antonio, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The Hamptons, West Palm Beach/Boca Raton and Miami.