New contemporary-style house on once-sleepy island in Palm Beach brings $12.5 million

Once a sleepy residential neighborhood with aging houses on the South End of Palm Beach, a small island near the oceanfront Par 3 Golf Course has lately become a hot spot for redevelopment and real estate activity.

The latest house to sell on Ibis Isle is a never-lived-in, contemporary-style home completed last year at 2291 Ibis Isle Road E. The house was developed on speculation on the east side of the island and faces about 100 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Entrepreneur, real estate investor and developer Richard Fertig signed the deed to sell the house for a recorded $12.5 million. The price was documented Feb. 28 with the deed.

A Florida limited liability company named after the property’s address bought the house. That company is managed by attorney Alexander Kochman of the Kochman & Ziska law firm in West Palm Beach, business records show. Kochman declined to discuss the transaction.

The four-bedroom house has 5,208 square feet of living space, inside and out.

On a lot measuring a little more than a quarter-acre, the house is next door to one on the southeast tip of Ibis Isle. The position of the house that just sold affords dramatic southern views of the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as a canal that separates the island from the rest of Palm Beach.

Agent Chris Deitz of Compass Florida listed the house at $13.895 million in late October. He had the property under contract by Feb. 5, the multiple listing service shows. The sale closed Feb. 26.

Handling the buyer’s side were agent Valentina Kraver and her daughters, agents Sasha Kraver and Isabella Kraver, all of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Sasha Kraver declined to discuss or identify her clients.

Deitz’s sales listing described the house as “move-in ready” with “all the bells and whistles,” including a state-of-the-art smart-home system, a well-equipped kitchen and custom cabinetry and built-in units. The fireplace and bathrooms feature book-matched marble.

The listing also said the property was a “perfect home for indoor/outdoor living.” Glass doors in the main living area open to a covered loggia facing the backyard, were there's a heated lap pool and whirlpool spa.

Fertig, who has ties to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, told the Palm Beach Daily News earlier this year that he worked on developing the house with his fiancée, Erika Bossi. It was built by contractor Paul Courchene of Boca Raton-based Courchene Development Corp., who has often partnered with developers on homes in Palm Beach.

Fertig founded and is chief investment officer of Stomp Capital. His real estate career has included buying, building, renovating and managing short-term rental properties, resorts and boutique hotels, including the Grandview Gardens bed-and-breakfast on Lake Avenue in West Palm Beach.

Fertig’s professional résumé also includes work in the hedge-fund industry.

In Palm Beach, one of Fertig’s limited liablity companies also owns a landmarked Art Deco-style house at 162 Peruvian Ave, which is listed for sale at $12 million.

Agent describes Palm Beach's Ibis Isle as 'up-and-coming neighborhood'

Discussing the Ibis Isle sale, Sasha Kraver said her clients were initially looking for a home on the North End of town but instead opted for the new house on Ibis Isle. Never-lived-in houses remain rare finds in Palm Beach — and the price was right, she said.

“Ibis Isle, I would argue, is also more centrally located to Worth Avenue and all the restaurants and shops” than the North End, Kraver added.

The house her clients bought is near another newly completed house on the market at 2315 Ibis Isle Road S. That house is listed at $22.5 million, having been given recent price cut of $6 million by Elliman agents Ashley McIntosh and Chris Leavitt.

Less than a half-mile long, Ibis Isle was originally platted by the Phipps family in 1953 and ultimately developed with single-family residences and condominiums. The south end of Ibis Isle, where the house that just sold stands, was developed with homes, while the north end is anchored by two mid-rise condo buildings. Ibis Isle also is home to several other condominium buildings. A small bridge connects it to the barrier island that comprises Palm Beach.

Ibis Isle’s profile rose during the coronavirus pandemic, when buyers — many from the Northeast — descended on Palm Beach in search of homes and condos in which to weather the health crisis, Sasha Kraver said. As sales and rentals mounted, the inventory of properties tightened — and some house-hunters learned for the first time of Ibis Isle and other off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods.

“People ended up in different areas that they had never heard about,” she said.

Since the start of 2020 — shortly before the pandemic first made headlines in Palm Beach — nine single-family properties have changed hands on Ibis Isle, along with 26 condos, according to a Feb. 29 search of the MLS

“There are still a lot of people who just aren’t familiar with (what) Ibis Isle (offers),” Kraver said. “I do think that it’s an up-and-coming neighborhood.”

McIntosh, who has the co-listing for the new house down the street, agreed.

“Ibis Isle is no longer a secret,” McIntosh said. “COVID really put a spotlight on it. If you want to stay out of traffic and have waterfront, Ibis Isle hits the mark.”

This month, a 1980s-era house on the southwest corner of Ibis Isle at 2308 Ibis Isle Road W. sold for a recorded $16.45 million to its next-door neighbors, businessman and media investor Michael Berman and his wife, interior designer Victoria Hagan. The house they bought had been in the same family since 1989 and was home for many years to the late Dr. Irving J. Sherman and his late wife, Florence. The listing broker in that deal was Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate, who negotiated opposite agents Liza Pulitzer and Whitney McGurk of Brown Harris Stevens.

Among Ibis Isle’s residents is photographer Kelly Klein, who was once married to fashion designer Calvin Klein. In 2010, Kelly Klein built an award-winning contemporary-style house on the west side of the island.

Fertig’s house on Peruvian Avenue is listed for sale by agent Ashley Copeland of Brown Harris Stevens.

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This is a developing story. Check back for any updates. Portions of this story appeared previously in the Palm Beach Daily News.

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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: New house on Ibis Isle in Palm Beach changes hands. But for how much?