Some people can and do splash out tens of millions of dollars on a trophy home in a prime location. One CEO, however, is spending a whopping $55.5 million just to tear down an under-construction mansion in Florida‘s exclusive Manalapan community.
David F. MacNeil, the founder and CEO of the automotive accessories outfit WeatherTech, is in the process of acquiring 1140 South Ocean Boulevard, the Palm Beach Daily News reported this week. Rather than completing the build and moving in, though, MacNeil plans to raze the existing structure and use the land more to his liking. “The person who bought it from me didn’t want the house. He’s knocking it down,” the luxury developer Joe Farrell, who’s selling the property, told the newspaper.
A rendering of what the under-construction house would have looked like once completed.
Hamptons Luxury Marketing
Farrell bought the property early last year for $32.5 million, and his plan was to build a new mansion and guesthouse on the site, with an asking price of $95 million. The contemporary new build would have included 13 bedrooms, along with a great room, a media room, and a combined den and office. Outside, Farrell was going to install two swimming pools with whirlpool spas, a poolside cabana with a kitchen, a pickleball court, and a garage with room for eight cars.
Now, though, Farrell has stopped all work—the first time he’s had an in-progress project snapped up by someone who just wants to demolish it. “A deal came along and I opted to leave the casino early,” he told the Palm Beach Daily News.
A rendered aerial view depicts the planned but now-scrapped estate.
Hamptons Luxury Marketing
MacNeil, it seems, is doubling down on the ’hood. He also owns the property just to the north, which he picked up last year for $38.5 million, bringing his total outlay to $91 million. With his latest purchase, he’ll be expanding his total lot size to 3.6 acres, with an additional 150 feet of ocean and Intracoastal Waterway frontage.
Manalapan, which sits south of Palm Beach, has become one of the most coveted zip codes in the United States in recent years. A $285 million spec home in the neighborhood aims to become the most expensive house in the country. And another South Ocean Boulevard estate just hit the market for $87 million. Plus, there’s the fact that Larry Ellison, the trophy property-collecting billionaire founder of Oracle, handed out $173 million for his Manalapan digs back in 2022.
Authors
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Tori Latham