The ex-Neiman Marcus building along Palm Beach’s ritzy Worth Avenue traded for $78 million.
Jeffrey Camp, through an affiliate, bought the three-story property at 151 Worth Avenue from an entity tied to New York-based O’Connor Capital Partners, according to a deed. Camp purchased the building through a Delaware-registered limited liability company listing a Palm Beach address.
The 48,578-square-foot building, completed in 2000, sits on an acre at the eastern end of Worth Avenue and across the street from the beach, property records show. It last traded in 2014 for $40 million, meaning it almost doubled in value since then.
Neiman Marcus, owned by Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group, had been leasing the building until late 2020. It closed this store as it faced financial woes following the onset of the pandemic, according to media reports. The chain of luxury department stores had filed for bankruptcy in May 2020. As part of its Chapter 11 reorganization, Neiman Marcus shed $4 billion in debt and closed stores, reporting more than $3 billion in annual sales in 2020.
O’Connor Capital Partners was founded in 1983 by Jeremiah O’Connor Jr. It has developed more than $30 billion in real estate in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia, according to its website. William O’Connor is the CEO.
In Palm Beach, O’Connor Capital also owns The Esplanade retail building across the street from the building that just traded, as well as the office properties at 230-240 Royal Palm Way, records show.
For his latest purchase, Camp, through his affiliate, agreed not to nab any of The Esplanade tenants, according to a restrictive covenant he signed. Retailers at the 150 Worth Avenue building include Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci and LUXE Custom Airbrush Tanning.
Palm Beach is largely known for its multimillion-dollar estates, including former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. The town is home to celebrities, businessmen and foreign royalty.
In March, Jordanian Princess Alia Bint Hussein, the oldest child of Hussein bin Talal, the former King of Jordan, sold her waterfront house at 1330 North Lake Way in Palm Beach for $45.4 million.
Recent commercial real estate deals in Palm Beach include the Reuben Brothers’s purchase of the boutique Chesterfield Hotel at 363 Cocoanut Row for $42 million.
Worth Avenue, which counts high-end retailers such as Tiffany & Co. as its tenants, also has seen activity in recent years.
Last year, longtime Palm Beach commercial landlord Burton Handelsman sold several office and retail buildings at 219 and 225 Worth Avenue, 220 Peruvian Avenue and 375 South County Road to Colorado-based real estate investor Mark Hunt for $58 million.