93 Palm Avenue traded at $21 million with no house on it, up from a prior $15.5 million sale. The 1922 residence was demolished in August 2023.
The former site of Al Capone's Palm Island estate at 93 Palm Avenue sold for $21 million, per PROFILEmiami. The reporting notes the transaction represents a significant increase from the property's previous $15.5 million sale price.
The critical detail is what the buyer got. There is no house. The original 1922 Colonial-style residence, part of an approximately 30,000-square-foot home, was demolished in August 2023, more than 70 years after Capone's tenure there. What traded at $21 million is 100 feet of frontage on Biscayne Bay and the right to build.
The demolition rationale is on record. Previous owners and developers maintained that the aging residence sat approximately three feet below sea level. That is the quiet story running underneath the guard-gated islands right now. Historic housing stock built at 1920s grade does not meet modern flood elevation, and rebuilding at grade is often cheaper and more insurable than saving the structure. Capone himself reportedly invested approximately $200,000 at the time into improvements to the estate.
This is a land comp, not a home sale, and it should be used that way. $21 million for 100 feet of bay frontage on Palm Island with nothing standing on it tells you what the dirt is worth on the guard-gated islands in 2026. If you own an aging waterfront house on Palm, Hibiscus or Star Island, your value case starts with frontage and elevation, not with your kitchen. I have seen sellers spend six figures on cosmetic updates to a home a buyer intends to demolish the week after closing. That money is gone. The better move is a clean survey, a documented elevation certificate and a clear read on what the zoning allows, because that is the package a developer is actually pricing. The prior $15.5 million sale is a useful anchor, though without its date I cannot tell you the annualized gain, and I will not guess at one.
On the islands, frontage and elevation often price higher than the house standing on them.
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