On the market in Palm Beach: Dated co-op had 'never been touched' until couple's re-do

Musician Michael Finn and his wife, business executive Rebecca Finn, have enjoyed their share of homes over the years, including previous residences in New York City’s Manhattan and Cape Cod in Massachusetts. In South Florida, they owned a home in the historic El Cid neighborhood of West Palm Beach.

But rather than undertake the renovation of their vintage house in El Cid, they decided to take on a more manageable project — and that choice led them “across the bridge” to Palm Beach, Michael Finn explains.

“We’ve done so many re-dos and built a house in Cape Cod. We weren’t up to it again,” he says. “Our El Cid home was built in 1926. It needed foundation work, wasn’t insulated, and all the electrical had to be replaced.”

All of which brought them, in 2018, to their co-operative apartment on the South End of Palm Beach.

But their new apartment — No. 610, at the 2774 South Ocean building — still required some work, although it was a much smaller-scale renovation.

“It had never been touched and was original to its 1968 build,” Michael explains, noting that the co-op still had a color scheme “in orange, gold and lime green” along with “an old musty-smelling air-conditioning system.”

And that led to a gut renovation.

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“We put in new plumbing, air (conditioning), wiring — and every surface was redone,” Michael says. “It took six months.

With their plans underway, their home in El Cid house sold quicker than the Finns expected, so they rented the unit next door to their new apartment. That turned out to be an advantage, Michael says.

“I was able to keep on the contractor, and we ended up getting exactly what we wanted,” he says.

Michael co-founded and served as artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach and was once executive director of the Palm Beach Symphony. Although retired as a performing concert musician — he played the bassoon around the world — he today teaches at Lynn University in Boca Raton. The couple has made plans to move close to his work.

“I spend more time getting there than in the classroom. We want to move closer to Boca and we want a pied-a-terre in Manhattan,” he says. “We are both New Yorkers and miss it.”

As such, they are selling their two-bedroom, two-bath co-op, which has 1,390 square feet of living space, inside and out. William Raveis South Florida agent Shawn Erik Olson holds the listing, which is priced at $1.275 million. Much of the furniture is available separately.

The vista of the ocean was one of apartment’s initial attractions for the Finns, as was the view of a park-like, unbuilt adjacent property that is part of the development. Their apartment also overlooks the pool.

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“We didn't look at another building. This building curves — it’s like an inverted ‘S’ — so not all apartments have the same views, but ours is spectacular,” he says.

The Finns’ front door opens into the living and dining areas, which are flanked by the main bedroom suite and the guest bedroom suite, which the Finns have used as a den and home office. Walls of impact-resistant sliding-glass doors from the great room and bedrooms open to the balcony. Closets throughout the apartment have custom-fitted fixtures.

The kitchen, adjacent to the dining area, is fitted with high-gloss custom cabinetry, quartz counters, a glass-tile backsplash and high-end stainless-steel appliances. A bar with a wine fridge occupies an alcove near the dining area.

The main bathroom features a shower and double sinks set into a custom cherry-wood cabinet, with a white porcelain countertop.

Michael explains the finishes in the guest bathroom: "I saw the copper sink on a mark-down and snapped it up. I like quirky. I picked the tile out and created the backsplash. I’m a tile freak.”

The vanity is crafted from “an old work bench I’ve had in five houses," he says.

In the shower, he chose porcelain “to mimic the look of a Turkish hammam.”

Floors throughout are Italian porcelain tile laid on the diagonal, and retractable interior doors throughout are inset with opaque glass. Although the sliding glass doors to the balcony have remote-controlled shades, the Finns rarely close them.

“We don’t like to block the view. It’s a very bright apartment; sometimes we wear sunglasses,” he says.

Palm Beach has far fewer co-op buildings than condominiums, and their ownership structure differs. Condo buyers own their apartments outright, while owners of co-ops own shares of the cooperative building.

With deeded beach access, the building at 2774 S. Ocean Blvd. has 96 units in eight residential floors near the Four Seasons Palm Beach Resort and the Par Three Golf Course. Common areas include a salt-water heated pool, two Har-Tru tennis courts and an exercise room. The building also has a full-time property management team and 24-hour security staff.

“The staff-to-resident ratio is terrific; the building is incredibly maintained, and all the (interior) common areas were recently redone in a very high-end décor with Roche Bobois sofas. It’s movie-set time,” Michael says.

“I’ll miss the ocean view,” he adds. “I try to get to the ocean every day, picking up shells and beach glass.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach real estate: Updated seaside co-op lists at $1.3 million