For wealthy buyers, Mar-a-Lago’s security perimeter is Palm Beach’s hottest amenity |
For wealthy buyers, Mar-a-Lago’s security perimeter is Palm Beach’s hottest amenity
Mar-a-Lago has become one of Florida’s buzziest mansions since President Donald Trump purchased the sprawling 62,500-square-foot estate and private club in 1985. Every time the president visits, the cameras follow.
But what’s gotten less attention is the luxury real estate market quietly reshaping itself around him.
As of early March, South Ocean Boulevard, the oceanfront road that runs past Mar-a-Lago and threads through the most expensive zip code in Florida, has been closed indefinitely between South County Road and Southern Boulevard due to security concerns stemming from the Iran war.
The town of Palm Beach announced the shutdown after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, prompting the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to implement “enhanced security measures” in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service. The closure also follows a Feb. 22 incident in which a 21-year-old armed man, Austin Tucker Martin, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County deputy after entering the Mar-a-Lago perimeter carrying a shotgun and gas canister. Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time. Typically if the president were to visit Mar-a-Lago, the closure would be lifted as soon as his motorcade left town, but this one doesn’t have an end date.
South Ocean Boulevard also happens to be the main drag of Billionaires’ Beach, the stretch of oceanfront properties where the likes of Citadel founder Ken Griffin, Blackstone CEO, Stephen Schwarzman, Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson, and more live. Reports show Palm Beach is home to roughly 60-70 billionaires, and listings along the corridor routinely cross $50 million—and Zillow shows several estates currently listed well over $200 million.
That makes Palm Beach one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the U.S., along........