CS Ventures has purchased two office and retail towers in Palm Beach for $18.3 million, marking the firm’s continued investment in the area.
The Palm Beach-based firm, a partnership between Charles Rosenberg and Spencer Schlager of the New York family investment office, bought the adjoining two-story property at 375 South County Road from an affiliate of Colorado investor Mark Hunt, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. CS Ventures provided a $10 million loan on the properties from Vista Bank.
Completed in 1984, the buildings sit on half an acre and total 16,700 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space, according to records and Vizzda.
Hunter bought the properties in 2021 for $16.2 million as part of a $58 million portfolio of Palm Beach office, retail and restaurant buildings from the late Palm Beach commercial real estate owner Burton Handelsman.
Schrager said CS plans to make “significant capital improvements” to the buildings, but declined to say how much the company plans to invest. About half of the buildings are leased.
New American restaurant BrickTop’s leases restaurant space. Other tenants include Brintz Gallery, 375 Gallery and Luxe Jewels.
Founded in 2018, CS has steadily expanded its product portfolio, focusing primarily on the island but also including West Palm Beach.
Last year, the company paid $35 million for office buildings at 340 and 350 Royal Palm Road, Palm Beach, and $35.9 million for the 10-storey Clearlake Plaza office building at 500 South Australian Avenue, West Palm Beach.
Other assets held by CS include offices at 324 and 440 Royal Palm Road in Palm Beach, which were purchased in 2021 for a combined $57.3 million, according to records. Also in the town, CS spent nearly $9 million in 2020 for an office-retail building at 214 Brasil Avenue and paid $4.4 million for a mixed-use property at 249 Royal Poinciana Road.
Before co-founding CS, Schrager was involved in the acquisition of New York-based The Praedium Group, according to Schrager’s LinkedIn. Rosenberg is an employee of Rosemark Management, an investment manager and purchaser representing the Arthur G. Cohen family office.
Palm Beach, the luxury enclave where Mar-a-Lago is located, has its small commercial real estate sector catching the attention of billionaire Ken Griffin.
Griffin, head of the Citadel hedge fund, paid $83 million this month for the nearly 50,000-square-foot office building at 125 Worth Avenue. Griffin moved the headquarters of Citadel and Citadel Securities from Chicago to Brickell, Miami, and he also owns 151 Worth Avenue, which is adjacent to 125 Worth Avenue.
