"Luxury home builder" is a crowded label in South Florida. The distinction, in Marc Elkman's case, is a portfolio you can actually visit — waterfront residences in Golden Harbour, Royal Palm, and on Cocoanut Road that were designed, built, and delivered by the same firm, Empire Development.
What Marc builds
Primary-residence-scale waterfront homes, typically 8,000–12,000 sq ft, with deep dockage, wide-water views, and finishes at the level Boca's end-buyer expects. Not tract product. Not investor flips. Real houses meant to hold value across cycles.
Design
Every Empire residence is architect-led. The plans are drawn to the specific lot — orientation, water frontage, prevailing wind, adjacencies. Marc's role is to make sure the drawings translate into a house that actually lives well, not just photographs well.
Sourcing
Warm, durable materials: honed stone, natural oak millwork, unlacquered brass, real wood windows. The Empire Development palette leans quiet and long-lived, which is why the residences age instead of dating.
Construction
The trades on an Empire jobsite have been on Marc's roster for years. Continuity is how the doors close correctly, the millwork lines up, and the mechanical rooms remain serviceable ten years in. See the quality-standards write-up for the specifics.
Post-closing
Marc's name stays on the residence after handover. Warranty items get answered. Punch lists close. In luxury home building that is the difference between a builder and a developer of record — and it is why buyers keep coming back.
Where to see the work
The active Empire Collection — 1351 and 1148 Cocoanut, 541, 561 and 651 Golden Harbour Drive, 839 Orchid — is the shortest path from "luxury home builder" as a label to something you can stand in front of and evaluate for yourself.