Penn-Florida Sells Development Parcel in Bankrupt Boca Raton Project

A venture led by Penn-Florida Companies has sold off yet another part of its bankrupt development in Downtown Boca Raton.

Boca Raton-based SobelCo paid $30.1 million for a vacant, 1.2-acre development site at 375 East Royal Palm Road, adjacent to Southeast Fourth Street, less than a mile from the beach, property records show.

Penn-Florida Companies had filed plans to build a 20-story senior assisted living facility in 2017, 12 years after purchasing the site for $1.2 million, per the South Florida Business Journal. 

The transaction will likely resolve the parcel’s bankruptcy proceedings. Last year, an affiliate of Safe Harbor Equity launched foreclosure proceedings, alleging that it had not been paid back for a $5.7 million loan that had matured earlier that year.

The sale marks the latest selloff within Penn-Florida Companies’s Boca Raton development. 

In June, a bankruptcy hedge approved Grant Cardone’s $235 million acquisition of 101 Via Mizner, a 366-unit apartment building. The purchase came after Blackstone, the lender, had initiated UCC foreclosure proceedings over a $145 million loan. The investor now plans to convert the property into condos.

Last year, condo buyers sued Penn-Florida Companies over delays at Mandarin Oriental-branded development, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2020 and would feature a 164-room hotel and 86 condos, The Real Deal reported.

Representatives for Penn-Florida Companies and SobelCo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.