Press

Get Revved Up!

March - April, 2014
Vero Beach Portfolio

We love the classic gentleman in this beautifully designed custom library. Race on over to Brooks Brothers Factory Store at Vero Beach Outlets where you'll find so many great accessories for your man and your home at great discounts too! (Shot on location at Splendida Dimora, 2460 S. Highway A1A, Vero Beach. A special thanks to Tom Laboon for being our male model!)

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Sotheby's Gala Opening for $18.9m Splendida Dimora

November 28, 2013
By Steven M. Thomas, Vero Beach 32963

Michael Thorpe and Kimberly Hardin Thorpe put on a gala open house last Thursday night that included gourmet d'oeuvres, fine wine and cocktails and a pair of talented opera singers very much in keeping with the Italian ambiance of Splendida Dimora, the $18,875,000 estate recently completed by Beachlen Development in the Estate Section.

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Growing Interest in South Beach Estate

May 2, 2013
By Steven M. Thomas, Vero Beach 32963

Five out of eight homes in the Vero area listed on Trulia.com for more than $10 million are located along a 0.8-mile stretch of S. Hightway A1A commonly known as the estate section The long narrow enclave, which starts half a mile south of The Moorings and extends to the south county line, includes 30 plated lots on the east side of A1A that total 56 acres. Most of the lots extend from the highway to the ocean but there are two small landlocked lots and a couple that run from ocean to river.

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$17.9 million home for sale in Vero Beach

February 7, 2013
By Janet Begley, TCPalm

Even though his clients can live anywhere in the world, real estate broker Clark French said more and more of them are attracted to Vero Beach. Clark and his partner Cindy O'Dare from Premiere Estate Properties unveiled a new $17.9 million estate home Thursday night that he's certain will attract discerning buyers to the oceanfront along South Highway A1A in Vero Beach, just north of the St. Lucie County line.

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Dual-brand hotel project planned at Meridian site on Chestnut

December 13, 2012
By Suzette Parmley, Inquirer Staff Writer

A hotel project planned for 1441 Chestnut St. will house two distinct brands - a four-star luxury W Hotel and a three-star, extended-stay Element by Westin hotel, according to those involved in developing the former One Meridian Plaza location. Both brands are owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. Although the dual-brand approach has not been formally announced - insiders say Starwood wants to secure all financing first - the information appeared this week on a website of Vine Street Ventures Inc. of Dallas, development partner of local businessman Brook J. Lenfest, who owns the site.

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New oceanfront estates: a sign of better times

November 10, 2012
VeroNews.com

VERO BEACH — In another sign of better times in island real estate, six big estates are under construction along ocean from Wabasso Beach to just south of Round Island Park, a big change from recent years when nothing was going up on the water. Three are custom homes being built for end-users; three are spec homes. A fourth spec is close to ground breaking.


The homes range from 6,500 to 18,000 square feet, and sit on lots of between .7 and 1.7 acres. Ocean frontage ranges from 100 to 200 feet. Asking prices for the spec homes start at around $5 million and go up $18.8 million.

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Developer bets big on top end of Vero market

November 26, 2011
VeroNews.com

VERO BEACH — When Thomas Laboon and his partner Brook Lenfest decided to build spec houses in Vero Beach, they made a strategic decision to target the top end of the market - a decision that looks smart right about now. Instead of building 5,000- or 10,000-square-foot houses on their oceanfront property south of town, they are constructing 17,000-square-foot estate homes with large guesthouses that bring the total size of each property to approximately 20,000 square feet.

There are fewer buyers - locally, at least - for homes of that magnitude, but there is far less competition in terms of comparable residences.

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