Here's the latest sign of the wealth pouring into South Florida: A prime shopping center including a Gucci store along Palm Beach's ritzy Worth Avenue sold for $43 million, more than double what it sold for just five years ago.
The deal for 225 Worth Ave. is also attracting attention because it's a record on a per-square-foot basis. It was brokered by Adirondack Capital Partners, a firm that represented seller JSB Capital Group and procured the buyer, Acadia Realty Trust, for a property with tenants including luxury retailers Gucci, G/Fore and J. McLaughlin.
The property's price tag of $4,249.85 per square foot is the "highest per-square-foot price ever paid for a retail asset over 10,000 square feet in the Palm Beach market," said Brandon Svec, CoStar's national director of retail analytics.
According to CoStar records, the 10,000-square-foot building last sold in 2021 for a little over $18 million. South Florida has been attracting wealthy individuals in the years since the pandemic, a phenomenon that's picked up recently because of Florida's low taxes.
Palm Beach County had the largest net flow of income in the country between 2019 and 2023 as a result of domestic migration, according to a recent analysis by the Miami Association of Realtors using data from the Internal Revenue Service.
A similar story is playing out across the state, with high-end branded residences booming throughout South Florida. In Miami, new supertall towers under development from names like Waldorf Astoria and hedge fund Citadel are rising over 1,000 feet.
Worth Avenue, a luxury shopping destination lined with high-end shops such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Bottega Veneta and Loro Piana, has been experiencing rapid rent growth driven by the wealth migration into the area.
"Assets of this caliber rarely trade, and when they do, they attract significant institutional demand from investors seeking long-term exposure to luxury retail corridors," said Brittany Feinberg, partner at Adirondack Capital Partners, in a statement from the brokerage.
Big retail space price tags
The higher price tag reflects Palm Beach's elevated status as a destination for those with a high net worth, Feinberg said.
Last month, the nearby Esplanade retail center sold for $200 million, CoStar records show. But while the Esplanade may have had a bigger price, it wasn't larger in terms of price per square foot.
The deal reflects the premium buyers are willing to pay for top-of-the-line properties in supply-constrained markets, Svec added.
"Worth Avenue sits at the intersection of global luxury retail, a rapidly expanding ultra‑high‑net‑worth consumer base and limited opportunities for new supply, which continues to reshape demand for space along the corridor," Svec said.
Feinberg added that "this transaction highlights the extraordinary investor demand for trophy high street retail assets in premier global shopping destinations."
South Florida also holds appeal for the wealthy looking to escape high-regulation states. West Palm Beach was named one of the world's wealthiest cities in a 2025 report from Henley & Partners, a research and consultancy firm.
The city was home to nearly 80 residents worth $100 million or more and cited for its strong growth potential over the next decade when it comes to wealthy new residents, the report said.
The deal for 225 Worth Ave. includes 89 feet of frontage along Worth Avenue's highly coveted 200 block, widely regarded as the fashion epicenter of Palm Beach, according to the statement.
"The combination of irreplaceable real estate, world-class luxury tenancy, limited supply and a rapidly expanding consumer base makes [225 Worth Ave.] one of the most compelling long-term holds in retail real estate today," said Feinberg.
For the record
Adirondack Capital Partners' Feinberg, Michael Hunter Coghill and Chad Sinsheimer arranged the sale.