A much-renovated house from the early 1960s recently sparked a bidding war on the North End of Palm Beach, selling above its asking price of $10.4 million.
The eight-bedroom property at 285 Colonial Lane sold for a recorded $10.9 million after it was listed in early April at $10.4 million.
With 6,806 square feet of living space, inside and out, the house and its guest cabana last changed hands for $4.3 million in early 2020, property records show. That was just a couple of months before the coronavirus arrived in Palm Beach, forcing emergency measures before helping ignite a real estate boom that sent prices soaring over the past few years.
The sellers in the transaction recorded June 4 are a married couple, Alexandr Khizver and Beth Lesniak, who both have experience in the private-equity industry. They bought the house after it had undergone a top-to-bottom overhaul by its previous owner.
This month’s deed lists the buyers as Steven Kaitz and his wife, Suzanne, who have ties to Greater Boston. His resume includes longtime experience as co-owner and co-CEO of his family’s business, National Lumber Co., based in Mansfield, Massachusetts. With several divisions, the company touted itself as New England’s largest independent supplier of building materials and experts in building-related services.
In 2022, National Lumber Co. became a subsidiary of Builders FirstSource, which bills itself as the largest U.S. supplier of building materials, prefabricated components and services for professionals in new residential construction and the home-repair and remodeling industries.
The house the Kaitzes just bought is the second one east of North Lake Way on a lot measuring about a third of an acre, several streets north of the Palm Beach Country Club.
“The uniqueness of the home and all the bedrooms really got the interest of several (would-be) buyers,” said listing agent Gary Pohrer of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Palm Beach.
Pohrer added that he entertained multiple offers on the property.
Boca Raton agent Samantha Bender of Lang Realty represented the buyers in the deal that closed May 31.
Bender and the Kaitzes declined to comment, and the sellers could not be reached.
The sellers bought the house in January 2020 from a Florida limited liability company associated with Ariel Wainer, a Miami-based distributor of high-end appliances. The renovation included a state-of-art Italian-designed kitchen by MiaCucina along with well-appointed bathrooms and other high-end upgrades, Wainer told the Palm Beach Daily News when the house was on the market in 2019.
The renovation opened up the floorplan to better accommodate gatherings while adding second-floor bedrooms, Wainer said at the time.
The backyard has a pool and spa along with the one-bedroom guest cabana.
Although the house was completely renovated, Pohrer’s listing said recent enhancements included new lighting fixtures, outdoor loggia screens, fresh landscaping, surveillance cameras and smart-home devices.
Residents of the street also have access to a neighborhood beach cabana.
On the sellers’ side, Lesniak is a managing partner at Norwest Equity Partners, which has offices in West Palm Beach and Minneapolis, its website shows. She was formerly at Grey Mountain Partners in Boulder, Colorado, the same firm where her husband has held an executive role, according to online biographical sketches.
Pohrer also acted on behalf of Lesniak and Khizver when they bought the house in 2020. Representing Wainer’s interests in that deal were agents Toni Hollis and Gloria Moré of Waterfront Properties & Club Communities.
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.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Bidding war for Palm Beach house ends with sale above asking price
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