Casa Eleda’s Beach Tunnel Includes an Elevator

South Ocean Boulevard divides Casa Eleda’s principal grounds from its Atlantic frontage. The estate resolves that interruption below grade: a private tunnel crosses beneath the road, and the current listing says the route includes an elevator.

$105MLatest asking price

150+Feet of ocean frontage

13,171Square feet of living area

The official offering now marks the property pending. That status does not disclose a buyer or contract price, but it fixes the latest public asking price at $105 million. The same record gives seven bedrooms, 10 full and four half baths, 1.05 acres, and 13,171 square feet of living area.^[1]

Long barrel-vaulted passage with terracotta floor tiles, wall rails, ceiling lights, and exposed pipes — The tiled passage is narrow, barrel-vaulted, and visibly equipped with lighting, rails, and utility lines. The listing identifies it as the private route to the beach. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

A private route beneath the boulevard

Casa Eleda occupies an unusual two-sided site. Compass describes the waterfront condition as ocean-across-street, while the property’s legal description includes land on both sides of South Ocean Boulevard.^[2] The tunnel converts that divided parcel into one private circulation system.

Palm Beach Daily News reporting describes the passage as 165 feet long and running beneath the boulevard.^[3] The current listing is more cautious about its mechanics: it says the private tunnel leads to the beach and is complete with an elevator. Available public material does not establish exactly where that elevator begins or ends.

Beachfront cabana with broad glass doors opening toward a lawn and the Atlantic — The ocean-side parcel contains a cabana with a living room, wet bar, and full bath, according to the current listing. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

At the Atlantic end, the offering describes more than 150 feet of frontage and a beachfront cabana with a living room, wet bar, and full bath.^[1] The tunnel is therefore more than an extravagant amenity. It solves the estate’s central geographic problem without requiring a surface crossing of the boulevard.

Brick and coquina establish the architecture

Maurice Fatio designed the residence for financier Mortimer L. Schiff and Adele Neustadt Schiff. Palm Beach Daily News identifies the patrons, while the current MLS record gives 1927 and Preservation Foundation material gives 1928. Late-1920s is the defensible description.^[3]^[4]

The name Casa Eleda reverses Adele’s first name. Above ground, the estate’s most immediate signature is material: pale coquina alternates with red brick across the Italian Romanesque elevations. Arched openings, tiled roofs, carved stone, and compact balconies give the composition depth without hiding the striped masonry.

Casa Eleda courtyard framed by palms, lawn, arched openings, pale stone, and red brick — The courtyard view shows the alternating brick and coquina continuing across the surrounding wings. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

Rectangular pool beside a columned loggia and palm-lined Casa Eleda courtyard — A long pool and columned loggia occupy the protected interior garden. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

The plan turns inward as strongly as it reaches toward the ocean. Principal rooms look into a geometrically ordered courtyard, while loggias, lawn, fountain, and pool make that protected center part of the daily route through the estate.

The current interior is a later layer

The listing credits Susan Zises Green with the interior design, Smith Architectural Group with interior architecture, and Mario Nievera with the landscape. Preservation Foundation material documents the property’s later restoration and the same project team.^[1]^[4] The visible rooms should therefore be read as a contemporary layer within Fatio’s architectural framework.

Casa Eleda entrance hall with a patterned stone floor, arched doorway, carved ceiling, chandelier, and pale walls — The entrance hall pairs a patterned stone floor with arched openings and a decorated ceiling. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

Formal living room with coffered wood ceiling, marble fireplace, arched windows, pale seating, and ocean light — A coffered ceiling and marble fireplace organize the formal living room; arched openings bring in the ocean-side light. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

The principal living room retains the scale of a formal ocean estate: a high coffered ceiling, marble fireplace, hardwood floor, and tall arched openings. Elsewhere, beamed ceilings and patterned floors shift the atmosphere without abandoning the architectural framework.

Dining room with a long table beneath a dark beamed ceiling, patterned floor, fireplace, and arched openings — The dining room places a long table beneath a beamed cathedral ceiling and beside a marble fireplace. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

Green bar room with mirrored bottle display, painted ceiling, patterned floor, and doors to the garden — The bar room uses green walls, mirrored storage, and a painted ceiling as a compact counterpoint to the formal rooms. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

Glazed sitting room with a beamed ceiling, pale seating, pool views, and doors opening to the garden — A glazed sitting room opens directly toward the pool and garden. Official William Raveis listing presentation.

The estate’s defining move remains underground

The principal mansion, courtyard, and pool remain west of South Ocean Boulevard; the cabana and Atlantic frontage remain east. The private route below the traffic joins those two sides into one connected estate.

Sources and further reading

The published photographs are a limited, story-driven editorial selection from the official William Raveis listing presentation. The source page is linked in every caption. Images are used to report on the specific property; Mansion Concierge does not represent the owner, seller, agent, or brokerage and does not imply endorsement.