The grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney just won approval from the Town of Palm Beach Architectural Commission to redevelop his longtime island home.
The commission voted unanimously to approve plans for a new two-story, 3,200-square-foot house at 302 Seabreeze Avenue during its Wednesday meeting. The commission also allowed two variances, one for a one-car garage and another for an incompletely covered generator in the backyard.
Rooney is the son of the late John Rooney, who was one of Steelers founder Art Rooney’s five children. John Rooney held a 16 percent stake in the Pittsburgh team after his late father died in 1988. He sold all but a 1 percent share in 2015, following a widely publicized restructuring of the team’s ownership.
The Rooney family was also the longtime owners of the Yonkers Raceway and Empire City Casino, which they sold to MGM Resorts for $850 million in 2019.
Sean Rooney bought the 0.2-acre Seabreeze Avenue property for $1.4 million in 2005, records show. Built in 1945, the existing home spans 2,300 square feet, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, according to property records. Approved plans for the new home include five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, a pool and a cabana.
Rooney commissioned Smith and Moore Architects of West Palm Beach to design the home, with principal Peter Papadopoulos heading the project. John Lang of Lang Design Group is leading landscape design for the home.
The Rooneys aren’t the only team owners with roots in Palm Beach. Charles Johnson, the billionaire principal owner of the San Francisco Giants, and his daughter, Holly Ann Bartlett, were linked to the purchase of an Everglades Island home for $21.8 million in 2021, and a $42 million mansion purchase in 2013.
Billionaire developer Steve Ross, chairman of New York-based Related Companies, is also a Palm Beach resident, and owns the Miami Dolphins.
Billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft dropped a record $23.8 million on a Palm Beach penthouse in December.