Land in Palm Beach may indeed be the ultimate luxury, if the oceanfront house approved by the town last week for billionaire owner Ken Griffin is any indication.
On Billionaires Row, the low-profile, one-story residence will stretch 105 feet longer than a football field. But it and several outbuildings will occupy less than 8 percent of the 11½-acre site on Blossom Way, a cul-de-sac about a quarter mile south of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.
> PHOTOS: Ken Griffin’s seaside house plan
In contrast, town codes would have allowed as much as 25 percent “lot coverage” of the land owned by hedge-fund manager Griffin, who founded Chicago-based Citadel.
The plans for Griffin’s estate rocketed through a review by the Architectural Commission to win unanimous approval Wednesday.
“This is some piece of property,” acknowledged Architectural Commissioner Robert N. Garrison, adding that the sheer amount of land with its relatively small house “defies logic.”
> Ken Griffin’s beachfront home to straddle three lots on Billionaires Row
Officials heard a brief presentation that emphasized the designers’ goal of creating an understated, family-oriented beach house set into an expansive and