Flip it! Tommy Hilfiger lists for $48 million a house he just bought in Palm Beach

Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News
·3 min read

Fashion icon and real estate investor Tommy Hilfiger has listed, for $47.95 million, the historic Palm Beach house he bought at the tail end of January for a price recorded at just under $37 million.

That’s about an $11 million difference.

Hilfiger used an ownership company to buy the landmarked house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. from real estate broker and longtime Palm Beach resident Lawrence Moens, who used the home as his personal residence. The off-market sale closed Jan. 26.

Moens listed the house Wednesday through his Palm Beach agency, Lawrence A. Moens Associates.

The Palm Beach Daily News was the first outlet to report the listing.

Fashion designer and real estate investor Tommy Hilfiger has listed this landmarked Palm Beach house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. at $47.95 million. He bought it through an ownership company at the tail end of January for $36.85 million.
Fashion designer and real estate investor Tommy Hilfiger has listed this landmarked Palm Beach house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. at $47.95 million. He bought it through an ownership company at the tail end of January for $36.85 million.

Purchased in January:Tommy Hilfiger buys historic oceanview estate in Palm Beach for $36.85 million

House was sold in 2021:Wackenhuts’ Fatio-designed landmark at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. sells for $17.88M to Moens-linked company, deed shows

Hilfiger-controlled entities own two other properties in Palm Beach — an ocean-to-lake estate on the South End; and a North End lakefront house, which he and his wife, fashion designer Dee Ocleppo, have listed for sale.

With Florentine Renaissance-inspired architecture, the just-listed house on South Ocean Boulevard was designed in 1929 and built on speculation by a noted society architect, the late Maurice Fatio.

The two-story, four-bedroom house and its one-bedroom guest quarters have a grand total of 7,265 square feet of living space, inside and out, including a 500-square-foot basement with a brick-detailed wine room and tasting area.

Dee and Tommy Hilfiger were photographed in 2018 in Palm Beach.
Dee and Tommy Hilfiger were photographed in 2018 in Palm Beach.

With its distinctive façade of quarried Key stone blocks, the house stands on four-tenths of an acre at the southwest corner of Via Bellaria, several streets north of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club.

Although the house faces a beachfront home across the coastal road, the latter’s low profile provides the former Moens residence with views of the Atlantic over about 166 feet of shoreline.

Known as Casa Florence, Fatio had the house built on speculation, although he and his wife, Eleanor Chase Fatio, moved into it after it was completed, historical records show.

The expansive pool area was restored several years ago as part of a major renovation of the 1920s-era house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. A company controlled by fashion designer and real estate investor Tommy Hilfiger just listed the house for sale at $47.95 million.
The expansive pool area was restored several years ago as part of a major renovation of the 1920s-era house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. A company controlled by fashion designer and real estate investor Tommy Hilfiger just listed the house for sale at $47.95 million.

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Moens had paid a recorded $17.88 million for the house in 2021 using a limited liability company.

He represented himself in last month’s deal, which closed at a recorded $36.85 million. He negotiated opposite agent Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties, who acted on behalf of the buyer.

Moens had bought the house from security-systems heir Richard R. Wackenhut and his wife, Marie, who had carried out a meticulous restoration. Moens handled both sides of the sale in 2021.

Architectural features include French doors — with sidelights and fanlights — in the enclosed sunroom that opens onto patios and gardens. Inside, the generously sized living room is richly paneled, while the sunroom has a hand-painted coffered ceiling.

The kitchen was completely re-done during the Wackenhuts’ renovation but it echoed the house’s original details.

The house entered the Palm Beach Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service late Wednesday.

Tommy Hilfiger and Moens could not immediately be reached for comment.

The restored living room of the 1920s-era house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach features paneling and hardwood floors.
The restored living room of the 1920s-era house at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach features paneling and hardwood floors.

The house is owned by TCM1 LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company at which Tommy Hilfiger is a principal, business records show.

In all, Hilfiger-related entities have bought at least five properties on the island— and sold two of them — since 2017, according to property records.

Tommy Hilfiger founded his eponymous company in 1985 and built it into a fashion and lifestyle empire with a focus on casual, American style. He sold the company in 2006 and it changed hands again four years later, when it sold to Phillips-Van Heusen. Hilfiger remains the company’s principal designer.

His wife has designed handbags and other accessories for her eponymous label.

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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Tommy Hilfiger lists for $48M the house he just bought in Palm Beach