A three-story commercial building on Worth Avenue’s ocean block is said to have changed hands, sold by one Palm Beach billionaire to a group involving another. The deal’s sale price could hit as much as $86 million, according to several people familiar with the transaction.
Property records indicate the seller of 125 Worth Ave. is a company affiliated with Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge-fund and securities titan who heads the Citadel empire and owns the largest residential estate in Palm Beach.
On the buyer’s side most likely are L3 Capital, a real estate investment firm, and an entity affiliated with private-equity titan Stephen Schwarzman’s Blackstone, the people who spoke to the Palm Beach Daily News said.
“High-street retail continues to experience strong fundamentals, and Palm Beach represents one of the highest performing luxury retail markets in North America,” Elena Clarfield, principal at Blackstone Real Estate, said in a statement released Aug. 12 to the Palm Beach Daily News.
Representatives for Griffin and L3 Capital did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The Palm Beach Daily News is the first media outlet to report the sale.
No deed for the sale had been recorded by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office as of mid-afternoon Aug. 12.
The 50,017-square-foot building was completed in 1974 and has offices and storefronts above ground-floor, along with an underground parking garage. If the sale price was $86 million, the building sold for about 1,719 per square foot.
Worth Avenue is world-renowned as a luxury destination for shopping and dining but many of its buildings also house offices.
The sale of 125 Worth Ave. would mean Griffin has divested himself of both of the side-by-side buildings he owned on Worth Avenue. In 2025 he sold, for a recorded $80.5 million, the building next door, which was once the home of a Neiman Marcus department store.
Both Griffin and Schwarzman have estates on the island along the stretch of South Ocean Boulevard known to locals as Billionaires Row, south of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.
L3 Capital owns commercial properties throughout the U.S., with major holdings in Chicago, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Boston, Los Angeles and Miami, according to that company’s website. Blackstone also has an extensive real estate portfolio.
The Worth Avenue building may have been purchased through a Delaware-based limited liability company, 125 PB Worth LLC, which was incorporated in Florida on July 23, state records show.
A limited liability company named 125 Worth LLC, managed by Citadel chief operating officer Gerald A. Beeson, purchased the building in 2023 for a recorded $83 million from Dreyfuss Investments and Frisbie Group. A spokesperson for Griffin confirmed to the Palm Beach Daily News at the time of that sale that Griffin personally purchased the building, not Citadel.
Town records shows that tenants at 125 Worth Ave. include Truist bank, Linda Gary Real Estate, the financial consulting firm Lion’s View Partners LLC, Edward Jones financial advisers, Premier Estate Properties, William Raveis Real Estate, Livingston Builders, Italian yacht design firm Ferretti Group and Atlantic Creek Real Estate Partners.
Worth Avenue’s ocean block experiences a renaissance
Griffin sold 151 Worth Ave. — the property directly west of 125 Worth — in November 2025 to TZ Capital, a company led by Palm Beach residents and brothers Tyler and Teddy Tananbaum and a third managing partner, Sam Zuckert of West Palm Beach.
TZ Capital paid a recorded $80.5 million for the site. Since that sale, TZ Capital received approval from Palm Beach officials to transform the massive space into a mixed-use development with retailers and a second-floor restaurant. That work is underway.
The transformation of 151 Worth Ave. is taking place across from another redevelopment project at 150 Worth Ave., The Esplanade. The Esplanade’s longtime owner O’Connor Capital Partners sold the Mediterranean Revival-style development to Reuben Brothers and Crown Onyx Investments for $200 million in March, according to county records.
Before that sale, The Esplanade secured approval for the redevelopment of the western half of the site, which previously housed Saks Fifth Avenue. Plans for that project include breaking up the square footage into smaller spaces for boutique tenants.
Controversial project was once pitched for 125 Worth
Before Griffin purchased 125 Worth Ave., the Frisbie Group had proposed a controversial project to expand and renovate the building.
The project would have overhauled the exterior, expanded the leasable space and enlarged a rooftop structure that houses mechanical equipment on the roof.
Some residents and neighbors shared concerns about the project and said the plans would make the building too high. Some also opposed the potential addition of a restaurant to the building. The Frisbie Group withdrew its plans after nearly a year of efforts, with a representative telling the Daily News at the time that the family-owned company would want the full support of the community before moving forward with any renovation.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
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. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Ken Griffin’s sale of Palm Beach building said to top $80M | Exclusive
Reporting by Kristina Webb and Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kristina Webb and Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News | USA TODAY Network
