On the market in Palm Beach: Renovated Art Deco-style house is priced at $12M in Midtown
In early 2020, entrepreneur and real estate investor Richard Fertig decided to “go long on Palm Beach,” as he puts it.
“After our divorce, my ex-wife and I sold our SoHo brownstone, and I kept my chunk of capital and came to Palm Beach,” says Fertig about his pivotal New York City real estate transaction in Manhattan.
“I’d been going (to Palm Beach) for ages, and, at the time, I thought it was trending. Also, Palm Beach appealed to me and my fiancée, Erika Bossi. Compared to Miami, it’s more livable and safer.”
He started looking for properties to buy in Palm Beach and the vicinity. He zeroed in on three properties: Grandview Gardens, a bed-and-breakfast on Lake Avenue in West Palm Beach; a property on Ibis Isle on the South End of Palm Beach; and across town, a landmarked Art Deco house in the ocean block of Peruvian Avenue near Worth Avenue.
“I closed on my (New York) brownstone two days before the (COVID-19) shutdown. We bought these properties when things were scary, but we had the stamina to close all three,” he says.
He and a group of investors bought Grandview Gardens through Fertig’s company, Stomp Capital, which he describes as a “lean-labor hospitality business. We pick incredible locations and incredible assets. We gut-renovate and restore. We also do ground-up” construction, he says.
But the two properties in Palm Beach are his own. “Erika and I kind of figured to move down here and see what happened over time,” Fertig says.
What happened, in part, was a decision to build a home on Ibis Isle, which was completed last year. Yet in the interim, the couple turned their attention more and more to the town of Wilson, near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where they were considering building themselves a custom home.
And that left them with a dilemma.
“We struggled with our (real estate) agent about what to do or not do: Will we move into one of our Palm Beach homes, or will be gluttons for punishment and build a home in Jackson Hole?”
Jackson Hole eventually won out — and the Art Deco-style house on Peruvian Avenue was listed for sale.
“Our Art Deco home is an architectural gem,” Fertig says. “Every single architect, designer or arts friend — all with style and taste — tell us, ‘Oh it’s unbelievable. You can never sell it.’”
Agent Ashley Copeland of Brown Harris Stevens has the house at 162 Peruvian Ave. — with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and 2,734 square feet inside and out — priced at $12 million.
Landmarked by the town in 1993, the house was built in 1937 to a design attributed to architect Belford Shoumate. The report prepared for the Landmarks Preservation Commission during its designation process notes that the house represents a fine product of the 1930s Art Moderne movement and a notable work by a master designer. Under the town’s landmark rules, the parts of the house that can be seen from the street cannot be significantly altered without the permission of the landmarks board.
The report lays out some significant details of the house, which has an asymmetrical exterior finished in stucco and featuring curved forms. At the front of the house, some of the corners on the multi-level flat roof are rounded. There are decorative horizontal grooves in the wall above the garage and an overhang by the front door.
In the rear courtyard, an exterior staircase leads to a rooftop sundeck with outdoor seating on one end and a putting green on the other, all overlooking the swimming pool and patio.
“Round porthole-like openings punctuate the wall (of the exterior staircase), giving the building an ‘Ocean Liner’ feel,” the report says.
The interior rooms are arranged in a kind of stacked configuration. The covered entry opens to the living room, where a doorway in the south wall leads into a hallway. Down the hall are three bedrooms, the family room, a dining area and the kitchen. Two guest bedrooms have views of the courtyard. The pool abuts the exterior walls of the main bedroom and family room.
The previous owners had renovated the home, Fertig notes, but he and Bossi made their own improvements — including reworking the putting green and other projects.
“We redid the saltwater pool. Almar/Jackson Pools did an incredible job. We also redid the roof deck and brought the putting green up to professional standards, using South Florida Putting Greens.”
Deciding to part with the house was not easy, Fertig says. “It’s a little bit heartbreaking, because we absolutely love this home and its location, within walking distance to Worth Avenue. We love its Art Deco style and the roof deck. We love the portholes, the round skylights and the pool, which is right against the home.”
He adds: “If it doesn’t sell (quickly), I will not be upset. I’ll just be delayed in the construction of my Jackson Hole home.”
Fertig’s house on Ibis Isle also is for sale. That four-bedroom, contemporary-style home — at 2291 Ibis Isle Road E. — is listed at $13.895 million with agent Chris Deitz of Compass Florida.
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To see more photos of 162 Peruvian Ave. in Palm Beach, click on the photo gallery at the top of this 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: Florida real estate: Art Deco-style house in Palm Beach priced at $12M
