Era ends on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach as Saks announces its closure
In this week's edition of Beautiful Things in Palm Beach County most Palm Beach Countians (countyites?) can't afford, we have beautiful things in Palm Beach County that most Palm Beach Countians can't afford.
Or can they?
Saks Fifth Avenue announced it will close its glitzy Palm Beach store on Worth Avenue in April, which surely means there will be some awesome blue light specials in an EVERYTHING MUST GO kind of sale with one of those car dealership wacky inflatable tube men out front. Would Palm Beach even allow a wacky inflatable tube man? That's unlikely. Sorry Saks.
Stay up to date on South Florida's sizzling real estate market and sign up for The Dirt weekly newsletter, delivered every Tuesday! Exclusively for Palm Beach Post subscribers.
In other real estate news, there may be another price record toppled in Palm Beach with the sale of two waterfront lots, sales of condominiums had a tough go of it in 2024 with caveats, and what happens when you spend mucho dinero for a 200-year-old bottle of Juglar champagne recovered from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, and you get, well, Skol vodka in a plastic bottle🤮? You sue, of course. And that's where unit owners and the developer of La Clara found themselves last week.
A lawsuit filed by the owners association of La Clara in West Palm Beach was rich in detailed accusations against Toronto-based developer Great Gulf, including a tidbit about how high-end wood finishes displayed in brochures were replaced with faux wood wallpaper. Quelle horreur! Well, it is peeling a little bit too, apparently. And here's a bit of behind-the-curtains detail, Realtors said on background that the suit didn't surprise them.
Most owners would probably accept a few minor lower-brow accoutrements, but they claim the tally of cheap knockoffs got too high. Another owner gripe was that instead of a promised wine cellar with a climate controlled storage area and fancy gathering room, they got little cubbies, no climate control, and a meh meeting room that looks more like a corporate meeting torture chamber than something opulent.
Over in Palm Beach there may be another blockbuster sale shaking the very foundations of the real estate market, but considering the growing wealth on the island, what's $200 million? Remember those adjacent lots that cosmetics billionaire William P. Lauder assembled, and everyone thought it was a little cuckoo because he knocked down a perfectly nice six-year-old beachfront mansion to clear one of the lots? Well, the joke may be on everyone.
If the two lots were to sell at or near the listing price of $177.8 million, it would rocket past a sale-price record set in 2023 and possibly set a new Florida record for a residential purchase. Prepare for the tsunami of untraceable trusts and Delaware-based LLC's to mask the buyer's identity.
The Surfside collapse understandably freaked everyone the F out. And some older condos are now having to pay up if they kicked the can for too long on repairs and fully funding their reserves. And that certainly was one side of the condo market in 2024. On the other side were the newer, higher-end condos that Realtors said did OK. That means the annual report was a bit skewed with sales way down, but prices up. Totally topsy turvy.
How things shake out in 2025 remains to be seen. For condominiums that have their affairs in order, it may be smooth sailing. And for those folks buying new? It's buyer-beware. Don't pay for Dom Perignon and get 8% alcohol Steel Reserve spiked Cherry Slushie instead. Although there is a time and place for 8% alcohol Steel Reserve spiked Cherry Slushie.
Live lightly.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Saks Fifth Avenue to close in Palm Beach and La Clara owners file suit
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
26 minutes ago
- CBS News
Air Canada says it will resume flights after government forced arbitration with flight attendants
Air Canada said it plans to resume flights on Sunday after the Canadian government intervened, forcing the airline and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration. The strike, which began on Saturday morning, stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. The North American country's largest airline said in a release that the first flights will resume Sunday evening but that it will take several days before its operations return to normal. It said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule is stabilized. However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the 10,000 flight attendants, said the demonstrations will keep going around the country, despite the airline's statement. "We invite Air Canada back to the table to negotiate a fair deal, rather than relying on the federal government to do their dirty work for them when bargaining gets a little bit tough," the union said. "We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked." Fewer than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said Sunday the Canada Industrial Relations Board has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. The shutdown of Canada's largest airline early Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada had canceled a total of 671 flights by Saturday afternoon, following 199 on Friday. And another 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended. The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Last year, the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. The Business Council of Canada had urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. And the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the intervention. Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full "due to the summer travel peak." Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that it said "would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada." But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn't go far enough because of inflation.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk urged businesses to ditch Delaware. Nevada saw an opportunity.
Elon Musk urged businesses to leave Delaware after a 2024 clash with its Court of Chancery. Other states, like Nevada, are eager to attract those corporations. Clark County, home to Las Vegas, is building an innovation district focused on tech. Elon Musk has made his feelings about the state of Delaware clear. "Companies should get the hell out of Delaware," Musk wrote last August on X. Although Delaware's Secretary of State told Business Insider its role as the "corporate capital of the world" is not under threat, states like Wyoming, Texas, and Florida — and especially Nevada — have emerged as popular alternatives. Musk's unhappiness with Delaware began in 2024 after a judge for the state's Court of Chancery denied his multi-billion-dollar pay package. In response, Musk attacked the court on X and advised others to avoid incorporating in Delaware. The billionaire has since moved Tesla and SpaceX to Texas. Musk wasn't the only business leader ready to ditch Delaware, as it turns out. VC firm Andreessen Horowitz announced its departure from the state in July, saying recent rulings in the Court of Chancery undermined its "reputation for unbiased expertise." Roblox, Dropbox, and Trump Media have also left Delaware. Delaware is considered a premier state for businesses to incorporate, in part, because of the Delaware General Corporation Law. The business-friendly statute is the foundation of its corporate law. While there are various reasons a business might incorporate outside Delaware, Musk and companies like Andreessen Horowitz said they are seeking a more favorable legal landscape. Nevada sees an opening Some of the companies that have left Delaware have chosen Nevada as their new corporate home. Andreessen Horowitz is one. The company said in its blog post that Nevada law provided less "legal uncertainty" than Delaware. Bill Ackman, the billionaire CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, said in February that his firm would also move from Delaware to Nevada. "Top law firms are recommending Nevada and Texas over Delaware," Ackman posted to X at the time. Nevada isn't just seeking companies to incorporate there, however, it also wants to attract their offices and workers. "What it's about is making sure that we're not just getting those businesses to incorporate on paper, but we also want their physical assets here," Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft told Business Insider. Clark County is home to Las Vegas. Len Jessup, a general partner with Desert Forge Ventures, which is based in Las Vegas and invests in early-stage companies, told Business Insider that he's seen more corporations choose Nevada as a home. "We've seen founders moving here — a lot of them from California because it's adjacent — but they're coming from all over," Jessup said. They're being drawn to Nevada for a variety of reasons, including no state income tax on individuals, no capital gains tax, and what Jessup described as lighter regulations. While Nevada doesn't have an individual income tax, it does enforce a commerce tax on businesses earning more than $4 million in gross revenue. Lindsey Mignano, a founding partner of SSM Law PC who represents emerging tech companies, said the different tax structures "may make less of a difference" in the early stage because "revenue is not yet high, but at the later stages of a company's lifecycle, this can absolutely add up." Clark County is hoping to draw more companies to the region by developing what it's calling an "innovation district." "It has been something that we've been really methodical about. We've gotten stakeholders together, but at the end of the day, Clark County's innovation district is really about lifting up what's happening here organically and using those assets to attract more like-minded businesses and individuals to be part of that space," Naft said. For Jessup, getting companies to incorporate in Nevada is a way to expand the state's economy, which mostly relies on its hospitality and tourism industries. "My goal is, 10 years down the road, I want to have helped to create companies in tech and biotech — so, outside of gaming, hospitality, sports, and entertainment — that add to the ecosystem and help to diversify the economy," Jessup said. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that the number of visitors declined 11.3% this June compared to the same time last year. "The state still does these cycles of boom and bust. I'd like to see us add more companies locally, like Switch's data center company, that are a little bit more recession-resistant," Jessup said, referring to the AI, cloud, and data center company. Naft said officials are still determining details about the Clark County innovation district, but are hopeful it could help solidify it's foothold as a business capital. "We want to make sure that people understand that we are open to new ideas," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Air Canada Flight Attendants Say They Will Defy Back-to-Work Order
The union representing Air Canada's 10,000 flight attendants said on Sunday that it would defy a back-to-work order and continue a strike that shut down Canada's dominant carrier and severely disrupted travel throughout the country. The announcement came at the same time that Air Canada had ordered the flight attendants to show up for work Sunday afternoon to restart service that evening. 'We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the charter rights of 10,000 flight attendants, 70 percent of whom are women, and 100 percent of whom are forced to do hours of unpaid work by their employer every time they come to work,' the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in statement. 'We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked.' The flight attendants went on strike over wages. They are also seeking to be paid for work they perform on the ground before takeoff and after landing. Less than 12 hours after the attendants went on strike early Saturday morning, Patty Hajdu, the federal labor minister, told the Canada Industrial Relations Board to use binding arbitration to come up with a contract and to shut down the strike. The independent board ordered the flight attendants to return to work at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the right of workers to strike even when it causes disruptions. It has not, however, specifically addressed using arbitration to end walkouts. Air Canada asked the government to impose it last week before the strike began. Before the union's announcement on Sunday, Air Canada said it would resume some flights in the evening. The labor board can issue fines, which can be turned into court orders, for defying its order.
