Billionaire David F. MacNeil, who founded the car-accessories firm WeatherTech, has paid a recorded $68.32 million for an ocean-to-lake estate in Manalapan, the wealthy town south of Palm Beach. The estate lies a mile south of a double vacant lot MacNeil assembled in 2024 and 2025 via two purchases totaling $94 million and has put on the market for $125 million.
The furnished, contemporary-style mansion MacNeil just bought stands on a couple of sea-to-lake acres at 1940 S. Ocean Blvd. The land was once owned as a vacant lot by “Piano Man” singer Billy Joel.
The sellers were retired South Florida businessman Francis “Frank” A. Mennella and his wife, Dolores, the deed recorded Feb. 9 shows. The Mennellas had purchased the land as a vacant lot from Joel for $7.5 million in 2018 and completed their custom home there in 2022.
MacNeil could not be reached for comment, but in December he told the Wall Street Journal he was moving from Fort Lauderdale and was buying the Mennellas’ estate and its furnishings. He bought the the Manalapan house as trustee of a trust in his name, the deed shows.
The estate has about 150 feet of beach frontage and the same amount on the Intracoastal Waterway. With a private lakefront dock, the property lies about a half-mile north of the Boynton Beach Inlet.
The mansion is on the estate’s lake parcel, which is separated by South Ocean Boulevard from a similarly sized, nearly vacant ocean parcel with a beach cabana-and-guesthouse, perched among thick vegetation on the dune. A tunnel beneath the road connects the two parcels.
The three-level mansion and its cabana have a combined 22,836 square feet of living space, inside and out, of which 16,582 square feet is air-conditioned, property records show.
MacNeil is president and CEO of WeatherTech, which is based in Greater Chicago and manufactures car accessories such as floor mats and cellphone holders as well as other products, the company’s website shows. He founded the company in 1989.
President Donald Trump in January nominated MacNeil to fill an open seat on the Federal Trade Commission but the U.S. Senate has not confirmed the appointment. McNeil is a major Trump donor and a member of the president’s Mar-a-Lago Club, according to Forbes.com, which estimates his worth at $4.2 billion.
The house MacNeil bought has expansive windows, broad balconies and covered loggias with views of the waterway, the lakeside swimming pool and the ocean.
“The seamless integration of indoor and outdoor living spaces ensures that you can make the most of Florida’s beautiful weather, while the high-end amenities and thoughtful design elements create a living experience that is second to none,” the sales listing said.
Interior photographs show lavishly appointed rooms with contemporary finishes of wood, stone and other luxe materials. The layout includes a game room with two bowling lanes, a home theater, a gym and a “wellness spa” with a steam room and massage room, according to the sales listing. There’s also a five-car garage.
Affiniti Architects designed the house for the Mennellas. Frankel Estate homes built it, Marc-Michaels Interior Design furnished it and Parker-Yannette Design Group drew up the landscape plans.
Agent Margit Brandt of Premier Estate Properties represented the buyer. She declined to comment.
Agents Philip Lyle Smith and his wife, Carla Ferreira Smith, of Luxury Resort Portfolio handled the sellers’ side of the deal. The Smiths had listed the house for the Mennellas in May 2025 at $84.888 million.
Philip Smith told the Palm Beach Daily News he couldn’t comment about specifics of the transaction but mentioned his and his wife’s “sincere gratitude to our esteemed clients for entrusting us with the privilege of representing, marketing and selling” the estate.
Frank Mennella has held leadership positions in several Florida-based companies, according to state business records. Some of those businesses were involved in the insurance industry but are now “inactive,” records show. He also served on Manalapan’s Architectural Commission. He and his wife could not be reached.
MacNeil made headlines in Manalapan in May 2024 when he bought a 1950s-era house at 1120 S. Ocean Blvd. for a recorded $38.5 million. About a year later, he paid $55.5 million for the house next door at 1140 S. Ocean Blvd. while it was undergoing a major renovation by then-owner and luxury homebuilding Joe Farrell. After MacNeil razed both houses, the vacant lot totaled about 3½ acres.
MacNeil had planned to build an estate on the double lot, homebuilder Joe Farrell told the Palm Beach Daily News before the sale of the house at 1140 S. Ocean Blvd. closed. But instead, the vacant land has been listed for sale by Brandt at $125 million.
MacNeil told the Wall Street Journal in December he might still build a house on the lot if he doesn’t sell it. “If somebody buys it, great,” he told the Journal. “If not, I kind of look at it all as fate. It’s got to be the best lot in all of South Florida. I’m excited either way.”
Brandt represented MacNeil’s interests when he bought 1140 S. Ocean Blvd., negotiating opposite agent Nick Malinosky of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, who had co-listed the property with agent Gary Pohrer. Pohrer at the time was with Elliman but today is affiliated wtih Serhant.
Pohrer and Malinosky also were the listing agents when MacNeil bought 1120 S. Ocean Blvd., with agent Tim Elmes of Compass Florida handling the buyer’s side.
In January 2023, the Mennellas sold — for a recorded $48.12 million — an ocean-to-lake estate they owned at 1400 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan. They owned that house when they built the custom home that MacNeil just bought from them. The Smiths represented the Mennellas’ interest when they sold 1400 S. Ocean Blvd., with agent Mark A. Griffin of Bear’s Club Sotheby’s International Realty acting for the buyers.
In the 2018 deal when the Mennellas bought the vacant lot at 1940 S. Ocean Blvd. from Joel, they were represented by the Smiths. Agent Pascal Liguori of Premier Estate Properties held the listing for the lot, and agents Jack Elkins and Bunny Hiatt — then of the old Fite Group but today with William Raveis South Florida — were also involved in the 2018 sale.
When Joel sold the Mennellas the lot, the singer owned two other houses in Manalapan, which he later sold. With longtime ties to Wellington in western Palm Beach County, Joel has since bought side-by-side houses in Boca Raton.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This is a developing story. Check back for any updates.
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.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: WeatherTech founder pays $68.3M for sea-to-lake estate near Palm Beach
Reporting by Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
