A Beverly Hills real estate firm plunged into Boca Raton’s office and retail market with a $12.6 million acquisition.

Brickstar Capital bought Spanish River Plaza at 500 Northeast Spanish River Boulevard, according to a press release. The deal equates to $226 per square foot for the 56,034-square-foot, mixed-use complex with office and retail. That’s a bargain in Boca Raton, where the average sale price per square foot is $300 and upwards for office and retail spaces, according to Colliers.

Mark M. Rubin and Bastian Laggerbauer with Colliers represented the seller, an entity managed by Glenn Edwards, founder and chairman of New York-based real estate investment firm Chart Organization.

Edwards’ entity paid $8.1 million for the two-building plaza in 2015, according to records. The buildings were completed in 1974.

Sitting on 4.5 acres, Spanish River Plaza is 14 percent vacant, Rubin said. Tenants include a Colliers branch office, Ascend Properties, IntensityX3 Fitness & Kickboxing, Mane Coffee and Dunetz Wellness Center.

In a statement, Rubin said mixed-use investors like Brickstar Capital are attracted to Boca Raton due to the city’s growing affluent population, as well as South Florida’s “accelerated pandemic recovery.”

In 2021, office sales volume in Boca Raton reached a record $926.5 million, according to Colliers. The average sale price for office space is currently $300 per square foot and more than $330 per square foot for retail space. Investors are bullish because the average office rent increased 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter, year over year, and the average retail rental rate increased 10.2 percent, Colliers states.

Boca Raton is also home to the largest South Florida office deal of 2021. Last year, New York-based DRA Advisors paid a record $320.2 million for the 1.7 million-square-foot Boca Raton Innovation Campus.

Laggerbauer said Brickstar Capital has acquired similar mixed-use properties and has a repositioning strategy for Spanish River Plaza that includes renovations to the complex.

The Spanish River Plaza purchase is Brickstar Capital’s first foray into Florida. The private investment company primarily focused on “service-oriented retail centers and creative office [buildings]” in Southern California and Nevada, according to the firm’s website. Brickstar Capital’s real estate investments have ranged from $2.5 million to $100 million.

Key Biscayne is no stranger to beautiful and expensive waterfront homes and condos, but at least by one recently released list, the island’s 33149 zip code is not one of the most expensive in the U.S., which makes owning a home on island paradise still a good value.

But which South Florida zip code made the Top 10 list of the Most Expensive Zip Codes in the United States?

Island neighbor Fisher Island – zip code 33109 – placed number 6 with a median home sale price in 2022 of $6,100,000. Fisher Island, the exclusive community just south of Miami Beach and accessible only by ferry or helicopter, has approximately 800 homes, nearly all of them condominiums.

The rankings, released over the weekend by the website RealtyHop, looked at prices for all types of homes in all ZIP codes in the country, between Jan. 1, 2022, and Oct. 19, 2022.

According to RealtyHop, the median home price for the 100 most expensive zip codes increased 11.03 percent since 2021 to $2,749,500.

Again, for the third year running, Atherton, California, came in as the most expensive ZIP code in the U.S. to own a home, with homes in this exclusive Bay Area community selling for a median price of $9 million in 2022, up 0.56% from 2021.

Second place on the list belonged to Sagaponack, New York, an enclave of a few hundred residents in the Hamptons.

Number three was perhaps the most famous zip code in the U.S.: Beverly Hills - 90210 — namesake of the ’90s teen melodrama “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

California led all states with five zip codes on the Top 10 list.

Key Biscayne did not make the Top 100 Most Expensive zip codes.

Below are the 10 most expensive ZIP codes in the country, ranked by median home sale prices:

1. Atherton, California (94027)

Median home sale price in 2022: $9,000,000

2. Sagaponack, New York (11962)

Median home sale price in 2022: $6,972,500

3. Beverly Hills, California (90210)

Median home sale price in 2022: $6,699,500

4. Boston, MA (02199)

Median home sale price in 2022: $6,200,000

5. Fisher Island, Florida (33109)

Median home sale price in 2022: $6,100,000

6. Water Mill, New York (11976)

Median home sale price in 2022: $5,500,000

7. Montecito, California (93108)

Median home sale price in 2022: $4,995,000

8. Ross, California (94957)

Median home sale price in 2022: $4,699,500

9. Newport Beach, California (92662)

Median home sale price in 2022: $4,674,750

10. Bridgehampton, New York (11932)

Median home sale price in 2022: $4,395,000

For the complete RealtyHop’s Top 10 Most Expensive Cities in the United States, click here.

Road rage led a Beverly Hills man to allegedly open fire on another motorist before he was apprehended with over half-a-pound of marijuana.

Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies took 19-year-old Vito Joseph Scarangella into custody Tuesday night, Oct. 18, from a median turn lane roughly a quarter-mile west of State Road 44 and County Road 491, according to Scarangella’s arrest affidavit.

Prior to that, deputies were dispatched at around 8:57 p.m. Tuesday to a possible shooting near the intersection of S.R. 44 and North Independence Highway in Inverness, and the shooting victim was following the suspected shooter west on S.R. 44.

A responding deputy came across the shooter’s vehicle heading west on S.R. 44 at 106 mph, weaving in and out of traffic, and pulled it over west of S.R. 44 and C.R. 491.

Multiple deputies gave the vehicle’s driver, who was identified as Scarangella, multiple commands to exit the vehicle and surrender, but he refused until several minutes later, according to his arrest report.

After detaining Scarangella, the vehicle’s sole occupant, deputies searched his vehicle to find 304 grams of marijuana, a loaded .40-caliber pistol, and a digital scale underneath the driver’s seat.

According to the victim, who wasn’t identified in the arrest report, he and Scarangella got into an argument near S.R. 44 and Davidson Avenue because Scarangella was tailgating him.

As the argument continued, the victim told deputies, Scarangella brandished a firearm, aimed it at the victim and fired.

Both motorists followed each other to the intersection of S.R. 44 and Independence Highway, the victim said, where Scarangella drove through the parking lot of the nearby Reliance gas station and stopped on the northbound lane of Independence Highway.

When the victim turned onto Independence Highway, he told authorities, Scarangella fired another gunshot at him before driving west on S.R. 44.

Scarangella, according to his arrest report, gave deputies similar statements but said he fired from his vehicle because he was in fear for his life, and was driving at such high speeds to get to safety.

Deputies arrested Scarangella on charges of discharging a firearm from a vehicle near a person, illegally carrying a concealed firearm, driving recklessly, resisting law enforcement without violence, possessing a controlled substance, and two counts of aggravated assault.

or visit tinyurl.com/yxn2ahso to see more of his stories.

Another New York import is joining the Miami dining scene, this time in a luxurious waterfront setting.

Avra Estiatorio, a brand with three locations in New York City and one in Beverly Hills, is opening its newest Greek restaurant Saturday, Nov. 19, at The Estates of Acqualina in Sunny Isles Beach. The Estates are a sister property to the luxurious Acqualina Resort, which earlier this year was named one of the best hotels in the country by U.S. News & World Report and best destination resort in the country in the 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards by USA Today. USA Today also named it one of the top three waterfront hotels in the country.

The 12,000-square-foot Avra Miami, a collaboration between restaurateurs Nick Tsoulos, Nick Pashalis and Marc Packer, is next door to the resort; a skybridge connects them. But it’s open to locals, too, seating 330 diners. There’s also a 360-degree bar that seats 22 and an outdoor terrace that overlooks an infinity pool and the ocean.

Avra aims to remind you of the sun-drenched Greek islands and their bounty. Seafood, then, is at the forefront of the menu. One of the signature moves of the brand is to allow diners to choose their fish or shellfish from an ice display, a throwback to traditional Greek markets (like those in the village of Nafpaktos, where co-founder Tsoulos was born and grew up).

Once you’ve made your selection — do you want sea bass? do you want grouper? or are the mussels calling your name? — you can have it grilled over charcoal or baked in salt. You can even order it raw as carpaccio or in a ceviche.

Other dishes from executive chef Jose David Diaz include mussels in tomato garlic broth with feta, grouper baked in parchment and Dover sole meuniere with Ossetra caviar.

The menu also emphasizes vegetables and cheeses, with cooked dishes like spinach rice, baked saganaki cheese and grilled Halloumi cheese drizzled with Avra’s own honey. One of the most popular items is Avra Chips, made from thin-sliced zucchini and eggplant, and the brand’s own olive oil is a key ingredient in just about every dish.

The design, by STA Architectural Group, takes advantage of the ocean’s proximity. The entryway, with a Bougainvillea pergola and three salt stone structures from artist Fernando Mastrangelo, leads to floor-to-ceiling windows. Diners can enjoy ocean views as they get to know the menu or get closer to the water on the terrace.

Co-founder Tsoulos said that opening in the Miami area is a “natural progression” for the brand.

“We’re incredibly excited to bring a taste of the Mediterranean to South Florida,” he said.

Where: The Estates of Acqualina, 17945 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach

Opening: Nov. 19

Hours: 5-11 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 4:30 AM.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California governor Gavin Newsom, has taken the stand at the rape trial of Harvey Weinstein.

What You Need To Know

Siebel Newsom spent 15 minutes on the stand at the downtown Los Angeles courtroom before a lunch break Monday, becoming the fourth woman Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting to testify at the former movie magnate's trial.

The 48-year-old Siebel Newsom was “a powerless actor trying to make her way in Hollywood” in 2005 when Weinstein raped her during what she thought was going to be a meeting to discuss her career at a Beverly Hills hotel, Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said during the trial's opening statements.

Weinstein's lawyers say the two had consensual sex and that she sought to use the powerful producer to advance her career.

When asked by a prosecutor if she saw the person in court that she met at a Toronto film festival in 2005, she went silent then burst into tears before managing to mutter “yes” into the microphone.

“He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie, and he’s staring at me,” she said when asked to describe him. She had only described their initial meeting before the court broke for lunch.

Siebel Newsom is known as Jane Doe #4 at the trial, and like the others Weinstein is charged with raping or sexually assaulting, her name is not being spoken in court. But both the prosecution and the defense identified have identified her as the governor's wife during the trial and Siebel Newsom’s attorney confirmed to the AP and other news outlets that she is Jane Doe #4.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they have come forward publicly.

Weinstein has had many famous accusers, including A-list actors, since he became a magnet for the #MeToo movement in 2017. But none of the women telling their stories at the trial have had anywhere near the prominence of Siebel Newsom, first partner to the man who last week sailed to a second term as governor of the nation's most populous state and may make a run for the White House.

“She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women," her attorney Elizabeth Fegan said in a statement at the start of the trial.

Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman told jurors during opening statements that Siebel Newsom “a very prominent citizen of California” who has made herself "a prominent victim in the #MeToo movement.”

“Otherwise,” Werksman said, “she’d be just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead in Hollywood.”

Actor Daphne Zuniga, star of “Spaceballs” and “Melrose Place," testified about her friend Siebel Newsom at the trial last week.

Zuniga said she and Siebel Newsom were on a hike when she told her she'd had a meeting with Harvey Weinstein. When asked how it went, Zuniga said Siebel Newsom told her “not good, I don't want to talk about.”

“I always had known her to be positive, upbeat, looks you in the eye, lovely energy," Zuniga said, but here “she seemed upset, squirmy, agitated.”

In a pattern described by many other Weinstein accusers, Siebel Newsom had expected they would be meeting in a public space with others in attendance, but instead found herself alone with him in his suite, prosecutors said.

Judge Lisa Lench is allowing the defense to use an email Siebel Newsom sent to Weinstein in 2007 asking him for help in dealing with the media surrounding a scandal involving her husband, who was mayor of San Francisco at the time.

Already serving a 23-year sentence for a conviction in New York, Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and seven counts of sexual assault involving five women. He has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.