Exclusive | David MacNeil wants $125M for Manalapan lots

A Florida billionaire is slated to list two combined — and vacant — lake-to-ocean lots in Manalapan, Florida for $125 million on Monday, Gimme Shelter can exclusively reveal.

Car mat mogul David MacNeil, the president and CEO of WeatherTech, and his wife Melissa paid $94 million for the land in two separate purchases: $55.5 million for 1.5 acres last May and $38.5 million for 2 additional, adjacent acres in April 2024, as Gimme previously reported. At the time, MacNeil called the $55 million purchase “a bargain.” 

In nearby Palm Beach, MacNeil previously told Gimme, only Mar-a-Lago has lake-to-ocean access.

This $125 million listing at 1120 South Ocean Blvd. comes shortly after the MacNeils paid $75 million for a turn-key Manalapan mansion, as the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. 

The offering is now empty of all structures. A mansion that is up to 60,000 square feet could be built on the plot, which includes 342 feet on the ocean, insiders familiar with the property said. However, all plans require approval from the town.

Whoever buys it will have the second largest property in Manalapan after billionaire Larry Ellison, who paid $173 million for 22 acres there in 2022. The property includes an 85,000-square-foot home with 33 bedrooms, as well as an art gallery, a bird sanctuary and a PGA-level golf course on the ocean. 

Manalapan is just 10 miles south of Palm Beach and 9 miles north of Delray Beach, and it is becoming the go-to destination for billionaires, as Gimme previously reported.

Other Manalapan residents include Billy Joel, Tony Robbins, celebrity developer Joe Farrell and New York society figure Jean Shafiroff. 

“Manalapan, which is effectively an extension of Palm Beach just south of Mar-a-Lago, has long been a favored alternative for those seeking enhanced scale, value, privacy, security and an ocean-to-lake lifestyle where neighbors are limited,” said listing broker Margit Brandt, of Premier Estate Properties.

“You can walk the secured beach in the morning, and then head on over to your own dock to go boating in the afternoon,” Brandt added.

As an extra bonus, Manalapan residents have the option of flying into a private airport in Boca, if President Trump’s trips on Air Force One create holding patterns at the West Palm Beach airport.