West Palm Beach February 2026

W hen Eric Levitt relocated from Baltimore to Jupiter in 2016, his plan was simple: manage his existing real estate portfolio of properties in the Mid-Atlantic from the comfort of South Florida. But as he settled into life in Palm Beach County, that “one-year tryout” quickly turned into a permanent move, and the start of a new chapter that would ultimately reshape his career and expand his footprint across Florida. “I basically moved in 2016 thinking I was going to run the portfolio that was in Maryland and some of the surrounding Mid Atlantic states from Florida,” Levitt said. “But I realized quickly that I didn’t want to leave Florida. I took about two to three years and sold off almost all of my portfolio in order to focus on buying properties in Florida. Being a car ride away from my properties is very important to me, mentally.” Before his move south, Levitt had already built an impressive resume. He sold a successful Maryland-based homebuilding and land development company to a public NYSE firm in 2005, then launched a private investment firm that amassed a diverse portfolio of retail, office, and industrial properties. By the time he made the move to Jupiter, he was a seasoned investor with decades of experience and millions of square feet under his ownership and control. Still, transitioning to Florida required a bold reset. His initial focus on industrial real estate, more by circumstance than design, turned into a long-term growth strategy. “I was lucky to get into a lot of the industrial properties early on, way before COVID came,” Levitt explained. “I didn’t really think I was going to take it to the level it’s at now, but I got a really good head start. I have owned a lot of different asset classes over the years and have learned that single tenant industrial is the best class to own, operate and scale for many reasons.” What started as a few strategic acquisitions quickly scaled into a booming portfolio. Today, EML Realty Partners controls over 50 properties across Florida, with tenants including UPS, FedEx, Ferguson Plumbing Supply, 84 Lumber, and SRS Distribution, now owned by Home Depot. When COVID hit, Eric was once again ready to pivot. However, instead of slowing things down, the pandemic actually accelerated his growth. “I was actually in the process of starting a distressed real estate fund to buy distressed assets once Covid hit,” he said. “And as I was raising money for this fund, I realized it’s actually not getting distressed. Everything is getting more valuable because more and more people are moving down here during COVID, and rents are going up.” That surge in demand ended up pushing him to look beyond Palm Beach County. “I was really just buying in Palm Beach County for the first several years,” Levitt said. “Then I decided to start looking all over the state. The increase in pricing throughout Palm Beach County forced me to go into Central Florida and the west coast of Florida, and look at deals that were priced better and had less competition.” As Levitt built EML’s Florida presence, he developed close ties with other real estate leaders in Jupiter, including Tommy Frankel, Brad Ball, and Rob Steiner. Frankel and Ball had already established Frankel-Ball Realty as a dominant force in residential luxury markets, while Steiner brought more than two decades of commercial leasing, development, and investor relations expertise. The idea of teaming up to create a dedicated commercial brokerage arm began as a series of conversations between friends. 10 W E S T PA L M B E A C H | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 Eric Levi COVER FEATURE – By Dan Hauser | Photo by by Neil Cohen Photography -