Stigmatized Or Not, A New 10,000-Square-Foot Mansion Has Been Approved For Jeffrey Epstein's Former Palm Beach Lot

Stigmatized real estate properties are usually not the first choice for many investors. A home or property labeled as stigmatized means it was subject to murder, suicide, crime or even paranormal activity.

Not listed in this typical real estate definition is a property where a convicted sex offender was accused of abusing dozens of young girls. That stigmatization, however, did not stop David Skok, general partner in the venture capital firm Matrix Partners, and his interior designer wife, Mally, from shelling out $25.8 million for Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach real estate in October. 

The Skok’s dream for the property recently came closer to reality when the Palm Beach Florida Architectural Commission approved plans for the couple’s two-story, 10,000-square-foot mansion at the now infamous 360 El Brillo Way address. The couple purchased the property, along a 0.8-acre stretch of waterfront, shortly after Epstein’s former mansion was bulldozed.

Epstein was one of the country’s most notorious convicted criminals before his suicide in prison. His mansion included a marble-walled room decked out with a massage table and a black desk where much of the illegal activity occurred. 

Two years after Epstein’s death, a plan for the property is approved. Developer Todd Michael Glaser originally purchased the property. He flipped it to the Skoks for a $7 million profit. 

In making its decision, the Palm Beach Commission avoided discussing the property’s history but did raise other concerns, such as ad design that was “too glassy” and “the lack of prominence of the front door” in the architectural plans. 

After three meetings to review the changes it had asked for, including a pool pavilion and dining loggia, the commission approved the plan.

The approval marks a new chapter for the property, which had been vacant since the Epstein mansion was demolished in 2021. Glaser sold the property for a profit after the Architectural Commission soundly rejected his plans in August 2021. 

You don't have to shell out $26 million to start building wealth through real estate. Investors are now using this strategy to buy shares of individual rental properties with as little as $100 to build their real estate portfolios and generate passive income. 

Shutterstock Image by pisaphotography

This article was originally published on Benzinga on Nov 1, 2022.