The New York Giants co-owner and his wife bought into a six-residence building on Sunset Avenue that has quietly collected NFL ownership. The seller's family had paid $2.1 million for the same unit in 1993.
Key Takeaways
- Daniel Tisch, a New York Giants co-owner, and his wife Bonnie Tisch paid $12.5 million for a penthouse at Leverett House in Palm Beach.
- The 4,600-square-foot unit traded for roughly $2,712 per square foot in a building that was built in 1982.
- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft bought into the same six-unit building in 2022, and a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Rooney family owns there too.
NFL ownership money keeps finding its way to Palm Beach, and one small building keeps catching it! According to The Real Deal, Daniel Tisch (co-owner of the New York Giants) paid $12.5 million for a Penthouse at Leverett House, a six-residence building at 110 Sunset Avenue.
Here's the math on this deal: roughly $2,712 per square foot, in a building that opened in 1982, for a unit that wasn't even finished yet, which means a refurbishment bill on top of the purchase price. That combination tells you how this island prices property.
What does $12.5 million buy at Leverett House?
Four bedrooms, a cabana, and two parking spaces
The penthouse runs about 4,600 square feet with four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. It comes with private elevator access, a newly renovated poolside cabana, and two garage parking spaces, in a building whose shared amenities amount to a pool and a gym. Jack Rooney of Douglas Elliman brought the buyer, while Victoria Brewer and Gary Pohrer of Serhant represented the seller.
That is a good-looking unit with direct beach access a short walk from Worth Avenue. It is also, judging by the renderings on the MLS listing, fairly ordinary by the standards of the new construction we cover every week. No wellness wing, no car gallery, no 25,000 square feet of amenities. As Larry Mastropieri noted on the Discover South Florida Podcast: "This property spent 34 days on market and sold for $2,712 a foot. That's a lot per foot for a 1982 building."
The buyer is not getting a finished product
Here is a detail worth flagging for anyone shopping at this level. The marketing images were renderings rather than photos of the finished space, which means the buyer is likely looking at a renovation on top of the purchase price. Larry's ballpark for that kind of interior work runs from about $500,000 to $1.5 million, so the real cost of entry climbs even more.
Why do NFL owners keep buying into this one building?
Six units, three football families
Leverett House holds just six residences. Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots, bought a unit there in 2022 for $23.8 million, which at the time was the priciest condo ever sold in Palm Beach. JoAnn Rooney, widow of John Rooney of the Steelers' founding family, owns there as well. The pull extends beyond this address too: Panthers owner David Tepper paid $68.4 million for an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion in 2021.
The buyer fits that profile. Daniel Tisch is part of the family that has co-owned the Giants alongside the Mara family since 1991, and he is a managing member of the family investment vehicle TowerView LLC. The Tisches control Loews Corporation, a roughly $18 billion conglomerate spanning insurance, hotels, pipelines, and packaging. For a family in that position, $12.5 million is a rounding error.
Scarcity is the whole product
A six-unit building means units almost never come up. When one does, the buyer pool is small, and the pressure to win it is high, so the per-foot number stops behaving like a normal comparable. This is the dynamic that makes Palm Beach the richest address in Florida hold its premium year after year.
As Larry put it: "Well, I mean, hey, this is the price of entry, right? To be on Palm Beach Island." You are not really paying for the drywall or the 1982 floor plan. You are paying for the address, the block, and the fact that almost nothing on it ever trades. For context on how far that can go, Jimmy Buffett's Palm Beach cottage sold for $3,652 per square foot.
Trying to figure out what your money actually buys on the island versus one block inland? Talk to a real estate agent in Palm Beach who tours both sides of that trade every week. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group or call (561) 556-9853.
Was the seller's 33-year hold actually a good investment?
This is the part most people would want to know. The seller, attorney and novelist Gary Lachman, whose family bought the unit for $2.1 million in 1993, walked away with a gain of about $10.4 million. Nearly six times the original number. It sounds like a home run.
Run the clock on it, though, and the picture changes. Spread over 33 years, that is roughly 5.5% compound annual appreciation. Larry's read is that wealthy buyers investing purely for return would want better, and a broad stock index over the same stretch very likely beats this. Private equity firms buying real estate typically underwrite 20% or better and exit within five years, so in this context, this condo was not a great investment.
But that is not really the goal here. It was a home someone used for three decades, and it still returned $10.4 million. When the property is one you actually live in, the return math sits alongside the years you got out of it rather than replacing them.
What else could that money buy in Palm Beach?
The single-family alternative
Around the same time, a five-bedroom single-family home on the island was listed near $14 million: about 3,900 square feet under air, built in 1952, on a corner lot within walking distance of the beach. Less finished space, no ocean view, and a higher price. What you get instead is land. Larry's preference in that trade leans toward dirt, because the lot keeps its value long after the structure stops making sense.
Or go one block inland
Larry runs this exercise with clients constantly, usually after they have insisted on an ocean view. The alternative he raises: a five-bedroom new construction townhome a block off the water, with a private pool in your own backyard, that still leaves you walking to the beach. Buyers chasing the view often give up bedrooms and outdoor space to get it, and condo living is a different experience from owning your own walls and yard. It is one of the most common mistakes buyers make with South Florida luxury condos.
None of that means the Tisches chose wrong. Buyers at this level are often not optimizing for square footage or even value. Some are buying a third or fourth home, and a fair number are establishing Florida residency for tax reasons, which only requires being here part of the year. When a property is a base rather than a residence, the calculation looks different.
Watch More on This Topic: Watch this segment | Full Episode | Last week's recap
Frequently Asked Questions
Who bought the $12.5 million Palm Beach penthouse?
Daniel Tisch and his wife Bonnie. Daniel is part of the Tisch family, which has co-owned the New York Giants alongside the Mara family since 1991, and he is a managing member of the family investment vehicle TowerView LLC.
Where is Leverett House?
At 110 Sunset Avenue in Palm Beach, just north of The Breakers and a short walk from Worth Avenue. It is a six-residence building constructed in 1982, with a pool, a gym, and direct beach access.
Which other NFL owners own in the building?
Patriots owner Robert Kraft bought a unit in 2022 for $23.8 million, a Palm Beach condo record at the time. JoAnn Rooney, widow of John Rooney of the Steelers' founding family, also owns there. Panthers owner David Tepper bought an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion separately in 2021.
How much did the seller make on the unit?
The seller's family paid $2.1 million in 1993, so the $12.5 million sale represents a gain of roughly $10.4 million over 33 years. That works out to about 5.5% compound annual appreciation.
Why is a 1982 condo worth $2,700 per square foot?
Location and scarcity. Leverett House has only six residences on Palm Beach island, so units rarely trade, and buyers competing for a rare address will pay well above what the building's age or finishes alone would suggest.
Local help for buyers and investors in Palm Beach
If you are buying, selling, or investing in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, or Palm Beach Gardens, it helps to work with a team that can tell you when a premium is worth paying and when it is not. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group Realtors®. For practical, hands-on support across Palm Beach, call (561) 556-9853. You can also browse current homes for sale in Palm Beach.
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