Billionaire developer and Miami Dolphins
owner Steve Ross paid well above appraised values to gain
control of more property in an aggressive buyout of a West
Palm Beach waterfront condominium.
An affiliate of Ross’ West Palm Beach-based Related Ross
recently completed a $25.4 million bulk purchase of 27 units
at the Southbridge condominium, a three-story complex at
3915 South Flagler Drive, according to real estate database
Vizzda. The price amounts to nearly $941,000 per unit.
The latest acquisition followed two rounds of purchases in
2024 and 2025, when the same entity bought 18 units in the
building, records and Vizzda show.
Related Ross now owns 45 of Southbridge’s 63 condos, giving
it a dominant position in the 1981-built complex that sits
on a 1.3-acre site along the Intracoastal Waterway, just
across the bridge to Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago, President
Donald Trump’s home and private club.
Related Ross has paid a total of $37.3 million, or roughly
$829,000 per unit.
That price was a major score for the individual condo
sellers in the most recent sale. The Palm Beach County
Property Appraiser pegged the appraised value for most of
the 27 condos at below $250,000 each.
Related Ross’ ownership position suggests a likely
redevelopment play.
The buyout push comes amid industry-wide turbulence in
Florida’s condo market. Tougher maintenance and reserve
funding laws passed in the wake of the 2021 Surfside
collapse have triggered costly special assessments for
owners of aging buildings, prompting many to sell to
developers seeking prime sites.
West Palm Beach has become one of South Florida’s hottest
redevelopment corridors, with Related Ross leading the
charge through a series of office, luxury residential and
mixed-use projects along the waterfront.
This month, Wells Fargo announced it is moving its wealth
management headquarters to a 50,000-square-foot lease in
Related Ross’ One Flagler, a 25-story office building the
firm completed last year.
Related Ross scored a $772 million construction financing
package last month for two planned West Palm Beach office
towers: the 23-story 10 CityPlace and the 26-story 15
CityPlace