Penthouses are prime, but let’s face it, not all penthouses are created equal.
“This is the epitome of Palm Beach. This is the gold standard,” says real estate broker Dana Koch of the Corcoran Group of the condo at 110 Sunset Avenue, which he co-listed with his mother, Paulette Koch.
The condo, located on the top floor, boasts “unparalleled ocean views” and aims to command a record price. At $26.5 million, it is the most expensive apartment for sale in Palm Beach.
“These kinds of apartments come up so infrequently,” Koch says. “Number one, it’s directly on the ocean. Number two, sizewise, it’s a large apartment” with over 5,076 square feet of living space — 6,376 square feet in total, including the terraces. Overall, it’s significantly larger than most apartments in Palm Beach.
Unit 4B is located in the east building of the boutique condominium, the Leverett House, one of only three direct oceanfront condo buildings in the center of town in Palm Beach. There’s no street to cross here, just simply go put your “toes in the sand,” as Koch says, or walk out the door and you are just steps away from restaurants and shopping.
The four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath condo exudes a contemporary style, credited to Maya Lin, the acclaimed designer and sculptor. She is known for her large-scale environmental artworks, architectural projects and memorial designs, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.
Lin, who is based in New York City, designed the condo for her in-laws, the late Erving G. Wolf, an oil-and-gas industry entrepreneur and his wife, Joyce “Joy” Wolf, who bought the condo, records show, in 2000 for $6 million — proving just how much property values have skyrocketed.
The apartment went on the market in September, shortly after Joy Wolf died at the age of 95.
The thoughtful and “timeless” renovation undertaken by the Wolfs and Lin included knocking down walls to create an open main living area and capitalize on the stunning water views with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that lead out to the terrace, Koch says.
Plus, “Every bedroom has a view of the ocean,” he continues. “No other apartment in town has views like this.”
Features include brown elm millwork and wood paneling, pietra Cardosa stone slabs in the entryway, master bathrooms and powder room, walnut floors and wallpaper that is a form of grasscloth.
Another standout feature is that there are “tons of wall space for artwork,” making it perfect for an art collector, Koch says. Throughout the apartment, there are “wonderful ceiling heights,” he adds. “If you know Palm Beach, you know there are lots of apartments that have eight-foot ceilings. Nine-foot ceilings are a big deal.”
Plus, the building offers privacy. It is just one of six units in the east building (the west building has 15 units in total). The three condos that face south share an elevator that opens to a private vestibule. There are two pools in the complex, and this condo also comes with its own 150-foot air-conditioned cabana, one of just six.
Amenities include a full-time doorman, a gym and a full-time manager. There is garage parking on the first level and the penthouse comes with two parking spaces.
The Palm Beach Daily News reported that the most expensive sale in the east building of the Leverett House occurred in April, when unit E3A sold for $10.625 million.
Last season, Behind The Hedges reported that the Koch team listed the most expensive condo at the time at $21.75 million. The penthouse at 2 N. Breakers Row, now listed at $18.5 million, is a three-bedroom unit with 4,095 square feet on the fifth-floor.
The record sale for a condo was set at $18.6 million when 219 Brazilian Avenue, one of four attached townhomes that is documented as a condominium, sold earlier this year, according to Koch.
This article appeared in the November 2022 edition of Behind The Hedges magazine. Read the full digital edition here. For more Palm Beach coverage, click here.
