The Dirt: Real estate in Palm Beach County is booming but Mar-a-Lago did not sell and is not for sale

Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·3 min read
The Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida on August 22, 2022.
The Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida on August 22, 2022.
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Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.

First things first. Mar-a-Lago did not sell, it's not for sale, nor will it ever be for sale, so don't even think about it. In fact, don't even look at it and certainly don't take an erroneous listing on Zillow that it sold for $422 million as fact that it sold because it did not sell. It was all just an "asinine" rumor and maybe a prank. Is Ashton Kutcher hiding somewhere?

Anyway, it didn't sell. Got it? Because there will be a quiz at the end of this newsletter.

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The Mar-a-Lago unsale last week was just one of a bonanza of real estate stories in Palm Beach County including an update on the languishing Mandarin Oriental hotel and condominium in Boca Raton and the blockbuster $195 million sale of waterfront land in West Palm Beach to ... guess who? You'll never guess, but try anyway. Related Cos. of New York? Is that your best guess? Bingo! You win.

Gentrification stings on South Dixie Highway as popular La Cabana restaurant loses lease

Left to right: Alba Garc’a, Bayron Tinoco, owner Evelyn Lopez and Rosie Guzm‡n outside La Cabana Latin Grill in West Palm Beach on, Fla., on August 24, 2023. The restaurant is moving to Forest Hill Boulevard.
Left to right: Alba Garc’a, Bayron Tinoco, owner Evelyn Lopez and Rosie Guzm‡n outside La Cabana Latin Grill in West Palm Beach on, Fla., on August 24, 2023. The restaurant is moving to Forest Hill Boulevard.

South Dixie Highway is getting all spiffed up and fancified with new design showrooms and new-age health-related studios, such as Float and Restore Hyper Wellness and StretchLab. But in the rush to get healthy and buy trendy wallpaper, some favorites are getting nudged out.

That's what happened to La Cabana Latin Grill, which has been in the former Nicky's Donut building for about five years but is relocating to Forest Hill Boulevard, after its lease wasn't renewed. What's replacing it? The new owner painted the iconic building a hot pink, which can only mean Adult Superstore! Just kidding. A new tenant hasn't been announced yet.

Mandarin Oriental gets dream loan to hopefully hasten construction

Construction continues on the Mandarin Oriental project in Boca Raton.
Construction continues on the Mandarin Oriental project in Boca Raton.

The tortoise-like construction on the Mandarin Oriental in Boca Raton may quicken after it won a $302.5 million loan. But when it will open is still a question mark. What's the hold up? A lawsuit, of course, and to understand it all you'll have to read lead business reporter Alexandra Clough's masterful explanation because it is no easy tale to unwind.

Buyers meanwhile are hopeful, but wary. It's kind of like when you order a new dish at your favorite restaurant where you always order the same thing or book a short-term rental or marry someone you don't know at first sight. It's all relative.

A $195 million land sale in West Palm Beach has tongues wagging, jaws dropping, eyes popping

South Flagler House, an ultra-luxury condominium planned for the West Palm Beach waterfront.
South Flagler House, an ultra-luxury condominium planned for the West Palm Beach waterfront.

The Lake Worth Lagoon has gone from a mucky estuary abused by C-51 canal discharges to prime real estate with the Related Cos. of New York plunking down $195 million for lakefront land just south of downtown West Palm Beach. Related is betting big, bigger, biggest on so-called Wall Street South and they're not dummies so warp speed ahead.

Related Chairman and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross spilled his guts to Alexandra Clough and called West Palm Beach a burgeoning "model city" for the country. You go Stephen Ross. We'll hold your beer.

Oopsy. Zillow's got some explaining to do on $422 million Mar-a-Lago sale blunder

A U.S. Coast Guard boat patrols the Intracoastal Waterway just after sunrise during President-elect Donald Trump?s stay at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Friday, November 25, 2016.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat patrols the Intracoastal Waterway just after sunrise during President-elect Donald Trump?s stay at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Friday, November 25, 2016.

The non-fact that former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate sold for $422 million spread like the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria online last week, but like many some things online, it was embellished, or a white lie or just totally made up. Trump's son, Eric Trump, called the rumor of the sale "asinine," and Zillow, where the sale was posted, said information provided to the website was invalid.

So how did the invalid information get posted? Zillow didn't go into details.

Live lightly.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mandarin Oriental in Boca Raton scores 302.5 million loan amid South Florida real estate boom