Benjamin Duell, a scion of New York real estate’s Duell family, dropped $28.3 million on a penthouse in the recently completed Forté on Flagler in West Palm Beach.
Records show WPB Lower Penthouse LLC, a Florida entity managed by Duell, bought unit 2401 at 1309 South Flagler Drive from an affiliate of developers Two Roads Development and Alpha Blue Ventures.
Duell is the son of Irene and Manny Duell, the late developer of 1045 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, according to reports. Last year, the family listed a portfolio of properties for $300 million. They sold the building at 673 Madison Avenue for more than $30 million to Friedland Properties in September of last year, after deciding to sell the portfolio in parts rather than as a whole. In 2015, they sold the building at 712 Madison Avenue for $83 million.
Duell’s penthouse spans 9,200 square feet, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half-bathrooms, according to Zillow. Forté’s design team includes Arquitectonica and interiors firm Jean-Louis Deniot. The building has amenities like a pool, fitness center, spa facilities, guest suites, private dining room, library and business center.
West Palm Beach-based Two Roads is led by co-managing partners Reid Boren and Taylor Collins, who partnered with Marius Fortelni and Scott Maslin’s Alpha Blue on the 25-story, 40-unit Forté tower. Closings began in July, and buyers so far have included New York Times heiress Cynthia Sulzberger, Fox News contributor Liz Peek, and Michael Ainslie, the former president and CEO of Sotheby’s Holdings.
The building did not sell out entirely, though. Christian Angle with Christian Angle Real Estate has the listing for the primary penthouse, which is asking $47.5 million. John Reynolds with Douglas Elliman and Gary Pohrer with Serhant share the listings for two other units, 2202 and 2302, which are asking $14.7 million and $15.3 million, respectively.
