On the Market in Palm Beach: Updated condo has a ‘feeling of indoor-outdoor living’

When John McDermott and Victoria McManus, a married couple with ties to Massachusetts, shopped for their first home on the island in 2017, they settled on Unit 205 at the French Villas of Palm Beach condominium at 201 Everglade Ave.

“I own the Centre Street Realty in Nantucket and put my (real estate) license here with Corcoran (Group),” McDermott explains. “We go back and forth, and have many friends who go back and forth, as well. We are all members of The Beach Club, too, so we are entrenched in the Palm Beach community.”

When they first visited Palm Beach, they stayed at a friend’s guest house on Chilean Avenue in the heart of Midtown.

And that stay, oddly enough, led them to appreciate the French Villas’ location across town, about a quarter-mile north of Royal Poinciana Way on the corner of North County Road.

“It’s in town but not as crowded as the area around Worth Avenue,” McDermott says. "Yet we are within walking distance to restaurants like PB Catch and the (Publix) supermarket — and one block to the beach and one block to Lake Trail.”

In addition to the location, the French Villas seemed “more reminiscent of a townhouse,” McDermott says. “Our unit has the convenience of a private home without the hassles of a big apartment building. We just park our car and walk in.”

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Adding to their apartment’s appeal was the fact it had previously been updated by an interior designer.

“We repainted and made some improvements, but it already had nice features,” McDermott says.

Palm Beach became their primary residence. But these days, McDermott is yearning to own a boat, so he and his wife are scouting areas near North Palm Beach for a waterfront property with a dock.

Acting as owner/agent, he has listed the couple's two-bedroom, two-bath condominium — with 1,560 square feet of living space, inside and out — through Corcoran for $3.275 million. The furniture, meanwhile, is available through separate negotiations.

Built in 1968, the development comprises a pair of two-story buildings with three apartments on each floor. The apartment McDermott and McManus are selling occupies the middle position on the second floor of its building.

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Immediately north of the foyer is the main living space, which includes the living room and a dining area open to the kitchen. The main bedroom suite and the guest suite, which the McDermott and McManus have used as an office, lie to the east. The washer and dryer are tucked into the laundry closet, and walk-in closets in the bedrooms feature custom-fitted fixtures.

Other details include built-in bookshelves in the living room, travertine-marble floors throughout and bathrooms finished in Jerusalem limestone. The guest bathroom has a whirlpool tub with an overhead shower, while the main bathroom has a walk-in shower.

The kitchen is fitted with wood cabinetry and has been updated with high-end appliances. The counters and backsplash are made of Caesarstone.

“One of the counters accommodates stools, so it’s sort of an eat-in kitchen. If you want to cook and have a conversation, you can do that too,” McDermott says.

French doors from all rooms open to the 28-foot-long terrace, which overlooks a garden area.

“You have that feeling of indoor-outdoor living, because the terrace is so spacious,” he says. “You can leave the French doors open and enjoy the terrace.”

The couple recently added impact-resistant sliding-glass doors to the terrace, although they have retained the French doors they loved. And they made another improvement.

“The railing on the terrace hadn’t been updated in years,” McDermott says. “We had it sanded and repainted.”

The development is pet friendly, and the pool deck was recently redone. The unit comes with covered parking for one car, and there is additional parking for guests. There’s also a bike rack as well as bike storage. The complex also has private beach access via a gate-access code.

While McDermott looks forward to exploring the waterways with a new boat, there’s a lot to be missed. “We have a little dog, and he likes his doggie friends. The heated pool is nice, and our neighbors are nice. I also like the short drive to the Beach Club. We are within walking distance to everything, and I do like to walk — but having a boat will make up for it,” he says.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach real estate: French Villas condo is like a private home