Key Takeaways
- • A Palm Beach property at 171 El Pueblo Way sold for $7 million, marking the third Smith-related real estate transaction in December 2021 totaling $56 million across three homes.
- • Randall Smith, chief of investments at Alden Global Capital, and his wife Barbara Stovall Smith have executed a systematic real estate strategy in Palm Beach, acquiring as many as 18 properties since June 2013 through Smith-controlled entities.
- • The El Pueblo Way sale represents a turnaround property: purchased for $1.88 million in 2014, it generated a $5.12 million gain (272% appreciation) on the $7 million sale.
- • At least eight of the 18 properties acquired since 2013 have been resold, suggesting an active trading operation rather than long-term holds; many interim properties were leased to tenants.
Summary
Randall Smith of Alden Global Capital and his wife Barbara Stovall Smith have accelerated their Palm Beach real estate exit activity, with a $7 million sale of 171 El Pueblo Way recorded Wednesday marking their third significant property disposition in a single month. The cumulative sales value across three transactions — including a beachfront mansion at 137 E. Inlet Drive and a Midtown property at 124 Cocoanut Row — totaled $56 million in December 2021, according to courthouse records.
The 171 El Pueblo Way property, a 1958-built four-bedroom residence with 2,696 square feet of living space on a quarter-acre lot, presents a clear case study in the Smiths' real estate investment methodology. The property was last purchased in 2014 for approximately $1.88 million, meaning the $7 million sale generated a $5.12 million gain over the seven-year holding period. The sale was executed through 171 El Pueblo Way LLC, a Delaware limited liability company linked to Smith-related corporate entities with operations in Englewood, New Jersey. The buyer was represented by a trust arranged through West Palm Beach attorney Ronald Kochman, whose trust structure and beneficial ownership remained private under trust privacy rules.
Since June 2013, Smith-controlled companies have systematically acquired as many as 18 residential properties across Palm Beach. Property records indicate that at least eight of these acquisitions have subsequently been resold, with many interim holdings leased to tenants, suggesting an active acquisition-to-disposition strategy rather than buy-and-hold portfolio management. Sotheby's International Realty brokered both sides of the El Pueblo Way transaction, with agent John P. Dewing representing the buyer.
The 171 El Pueblo Way property, a 1958-built four-bedroom residence with 2,696 square feet of living space on a quarter-acre lot, presents a clear case study in the Smiths' real estate investment methodology. The property was last purchased in 2014 for approximately $1.88 million, meaning the $7 million sale generated a $5.12 million gain over the seven-year holding period. The sale was executed through 171 El Pueblo Way LLC, a Delaware limited liability company linked to Smith-related corporate entities with operations in Englewood, New Jersey. The buyer was represented by a trust arranged through West Palm Beach attorney Ronald Kochman, whose trust structure and beneficial ownership remained private under trust privacy rules.
Since June 2013, Smith-controlled companies have systematically acquired as many as 18 residential properties across Palm Beach. Property records indicate that at least eight of these acquisitions have subsequently been resold, with many interim holdings leased to tenants, suggesting an active acquisition-to-disposition strategy rather than buy-and-hold portfolio management. Sotheby's International Realty brokered both sides of the El Pueblo Way transaction, with agent John P. Dewing representing the buyer.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.