On the market in Palm Beach: Midtown co-op with a view of the sea listed at about $3M

Ben Paulino chalks it up to fate as to how he and his wife, Mary, found their co-operative apartment in Midtown Palm Beach more than 20 years ago.

“We were looking at real estate in Gulf Stream, and our (real estate agent) called us and said, ‘Mr. Paulino, I am standing on the terrace of a building in Palm Beach with a view of Worth Avenue and the ocean. I want you to see it.’”

Her conversation happened to be in earshot of someone — and that’s when fate stepped in.

“A man sitting on the terrace having his coffee asked her, ‘Are you talking to Ben?’ And he took her phone and said: ‘Ben, buy this place,’” recalls Paulino, who at the time lived in Garden City, a village on New York's Long Island. “It was my neighbor and friend, Bob Krener, from Garden City, so he became our neighbor here, too.”

The Paulinos, who owned and operated a beauty enterprise with a salon, retail boutique and spa on Long Island, were already fans of Palm Beach. “We would come to The Breakers every year before we bought our apartment,” Ben says. “Our daughter was in a stroller at that time.”

The couple later moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, where they still have a home.

Their vacation apartment, No. 5F, is in a development known informally as the “300 Building.” With its distinctive serpentine shape, the co-operative building at 300 S. Ocean Blvd. stands immediately north of Brazilian Avenue near Royal Palm Way.

The apartment has served them well over the years and underwent a renovation five years ago. But now the Paulinos’ needs have changed, Ben says, and they are exploring their options. As such, they are selling their one-bedroom, two-bath unit, with 1,444 square feet of living space, inside and out. Sotheby’s International Realty agent J.B. Edwards holds the listing for the apartment, which is priced at $2.995 million.

From the terrace outside the front door, the foyer flows out to the central living area. The space comprises a dining room, living room and a sunroom that opens to the north-facing balcony overlooking a courtyard. On the opposite side of the living room, windows look out to the front terrace.

“When sitting on the terrace, you are overlooking a panorama from Brazilian Avenue all the way to Worth Avenue. You can see the ocean, and to the right is an open view of the West Palm Beach skyline,” Ben explains.

On the east side of the apartment are the kitchen, a bathroom accessed from the living room, and the main bedroom suite, which also opens to the north-facing balcony. The suite comprises two closets and a bathroom.

When they first saw it, the apartment was under renovation, Ben says.

“We had to finish what the previous owner had started,” he explains. “We had to complete the second bathroom, and the kitchen (renovation) had been started. We had to finish the tiling.”

In their more-recent update, the couple installed hurricane-rated windows and doors, finished the walls with Venetian plaster, refinished the hardwood floors and overhauled the main bathroom.

The kitchen is fitted with white Shaker-style cabinetry, quartz counters, glass-tile backsplashes, and high-end stainless GE appliances. “We also added built-in cabinetry in our bedroom. And the greatest thing we did was in the sunroom, which we converted into an office/guest bedroom, building in cabinetry and a (pull-down) Murphy bed,” Ben says.

A Hunter Douglas shade between the sunroom and living room can be closed for privacy. Also of note is the foyer’s built-in cabinetry for display. Their unit and a neighboring one share an adjoining storage closet with a staff bathroom.

The 1960s-era building comprises six floors with 44 apartments, an updated lobby, a gym and a pool area with a whirlpool spa. Services include an onsite manager, and year-round staff of six that includes a garage attendant and 24-hour door personnel.

The Paulinos’ unit will be sold with parking for one car, but there is off-street parking for guests.

The location of the building and the services it offers are special, the Paulinos say.

“Our apartment has lots of light — it’s spacious and open. The management is wonderful, and the building is close to everything,” Mary says. “You don’t need a car. I have loved being able to walk everywhere.”

Adds Ben: “We can have breakfast and pick up the paper at the corner. Everything is at our fingertips. … I will miss the environment, the level of security and the quality of life. It’s a pristine building in a perfect location.”

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To see more photos of No. 5F at 300 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach, click on the photo gallery at the top of the page.

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For more than 20 years, Christine Davis has written about Palm Beach real estate in the "On the Market" feature in the Palm Beach Daily news.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Midtown Palm Beach co-op unit with view of ocean listed at about $3M