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Following the July 13 assassination attempt made on former President Donald Trump, increased security surrounding the Republican nominee has created an obstacle course of sorts for agents trying to do their job in Palm Beach’s luxury market.
The Secret Service closed off a large swath of South Ocean Boulevard in front of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club on July 20, and the area is slated to remain shut down until further notice. The closure impacts the stretch of road from Mar-a-Lago north to where South County Road intersects with South Ocean Boulevard. According to the Palm Beach Police Department, the closure will likely last until at least the November election, the Palm Beach Daily News reported.
With the road officially shut down 24/7, individual residents or workers who need access must be approved to do so by law enforcement. The closure means that properties south of Mar-a-Lago are largely isolated from the rest of the island, and those properties north of the club are cut off from one of the three bridges that connect Palm Beach to the rest of Florida.
For now, the road closure is more of a minor headache for agents since the market is currently in the midst of its slower season, agents told The Real Deal. But it could become a bigger problem once more seasonal residents trickle back in the fall.
“I don’t see it as being positive,” Douglas Elliman agent Gary Pohrer told TRD. Pohrer will soon be listing a property adjacent to the club, and added that for potential buyers, it “can’t be something somebody would want to endure.”
Listings in the impacted area span in price from $13.9 million to $48.9 million. There were seven such impacted listings in the area as of Monday, according to Zillow.
Since they’re now isolated from the rest of the island, properties south of Mar-a-Lago have also been impacted to a degree, including a $40 million listing located at 500 Regents Park Road. Even though the listing is only about 200 feet away from Trump’s club, sales agent Rob Thomson of Waterfront Properties & Club Communities said he’s not concerned about the closure impacting the sale of his listing.
“Can it be annoying? Sure,” Thomson told TRD. “Is it horrific? No. Last time we all just got used to it.”
The island faced similar road closures when Trump was in office. Whenever the then-president stayed at the club while in town, the road would close and then reopen when he left town again.
A property at 1045 South Ocean was on the market when Trump was president in 2018, listed by Traci DeGeorge, who was then affiliated with Waterfront Properties. Although the closure impacted the property, Waterfront Properties owner Thompson said that it was no different than having to access a property within a gated community.
“The barricade was literally in front of the front door,” Thompson told TRD. “It was really not any different time-wise than pulling up to a gold community and stopping at the gate.”
Thompson happens to be a member of Mar-a-Lago, and lives in Admirals Cove, about 20 miles north of the club. He said having the Secret Service around while Trump was president didn’t serve as a deterrent to potential buyers.
“It made people feel really safe,” Thompson said.
Town Manager Kirk Blouin, is wondering why a 24/7 road closure is necessary, however, and has asked the Secret Service for a legal explanation.
“If there’s a protectee in residence, it makes sense,” Blouin told the Palm Beach Daily News. “If there’s no one there, I don’t understand the road closure at this moment.”
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