On the market for $2.975M, this Palm Beach condo affords 'spectacular' direct-ocean views
The seller of condo No. 501N in Beach Point on the South End has enjoyed 'spectacular' ocean vistas as well as views of the Intracoastal Waterway.
A condominium on the South End of Palm Beach provided a source of enjoyment for Washington, D.C., residents Ellen Bennett, a retired professional photographer, and her late husband, Robert, a defense attorney and former prosecutor.
With its direct views of the ocean on one side and vistas of the Intracoastal Waterway on the other, the apartment at Beach Point offered the couple a picture-perfect winter retreat for more than two decades.
“Palm Beach is a two-hour flight away from Washington, and we could go down for a few days, a week, two weeks — it was a wonderful getaway,” Bennett says in a phone call from Washington.
But since her husband’s death in 2023, she no longer finds herself making the trip as often, she says.
“That’s the reason I haven’t come. Now, my life is too centered in Washington, and I’m renovating my house here.”
She has, therefore, listed for sale the Palm Beach apartment, No. 501N at 2660 S. Ocean Blvd. With two bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, the condo has 2,400 square feet of living space, inside and out.
Priced at $2.975 million, the condo is offered through Corcoran Group agent Wendy Bowes, who has co-listed it with her Corcoran colleague William McManus, and agent Chris Leavitt of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The apartment will be sold with a poolside cabana and garage parking for one car.
“It was a great decision (to buy it in 2001),” Bennett recalls. “We were vacationing in Palm Beach, and a friend said she was looking for an apartment and I tagged along. When I saw this condo, I thought it was lovely and in excellent condition, and I said to my husband, ‘Why don’t we buy this?’ ”
The fifth-floor corner unit on the north end of the building has a wraparound balcony among its features.
And of all the apartments she visited, this one had an especially appealing view of the Atlantic. “There are no roads, no activities in between. There’s nothing else (to see) — just the ocean,” she says. “It’s spectacular, I think.”
From the entry hallway, visitors head east through the dining room to the living room, with the kitchen just adjacent. On the north side of the apartment are the guest bedroom suite as well as the main bedroom suite. Completing the floor plan are a laundry room and a half-bath.
Over the years, she and her husband made changes to suit their tastes. Upon moving in, they added built-in cabinetry to the living room and redid the kitchen, replacing the cabinet doors and installing granite counters.
Later improvements included replacing the windows and sliding-glass doors with impact-resistant versions; adding sliding plantation-shutter-style doors for privacy and light control; and installing track lighting.
The Bennetts also reworked the dressing area in the main bedroom suite to accommodate built-in cabinetry.
And more recently, they updated the bathrooms, put in the oak flooring and decorative wall coverings and replaced the air-conditioning system, the water heater and the kitchen appliances.
“We have not knocked down walls or reconfigured it. The layout worked very well for our needs,” Bennett says. “The guest bedroom (with an en suite bathroom) is off a little hallway and is very private for our family members and guests.
“And we have the wraparound balcony, so we see the ocean and the Intracoastal. I will miss sitting out there, reading and watching and listening to the ocean. It’s beautiful and never the same at night with the moonlight glowing on the water.”
With private beach access, Beach Point was developed in 1979 on an ocean-to-lake site. Each of the towers has seven floors, with a grand total of 105 units. On-site recreation facilities include a fitness center, a card room, a tennis court and a pool with a whirlpool spa. The staff is attentive and helpful, she adds.
“We enjoyed the amenities,” Bennett says. “There’s a beautiful white stairway that goes down to the beach. It’s reminiscent to me of Greece, and the lovely pool is sunny.”
Yet she is ready to move on.
“Unfortunately, I’m not getting to Palm Beach enough, and it’s time for someone else to enjoy the view, because it is so special,” she says.
To see more photos of Unit No. 501N at 2660 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach, click on the photo gallery at the top of this page.
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.