A property at 311 Polmer Park in Palm Beach offered a remarkable opportunity to real estate investor Richard Cushing True and his partners to develop a new home with some equally remarkable features, True says.
“Polmer Park is the Estate Section of the North End. A special street with high elevation, it allowed us to put in a full entertainment level — with 10-foot ceilings — below grade,” True explains.
Originally, the lot at 311 Polmer Park was home to a tennis court and viewing pavilion for a 1970s-era estate next door at No. 301. When True and his original investor bought that estate in 2021, the plan was to refresh the estate and resell it intact, True explains.
But True eventually split the lots, which gave 301 Polmer Park a half-acre of land. That property is today owned by real estate investor Patrick Carney.
The tennis pavilion lot, meanwhile, measured a third of an acre at 311 Polmer Park. Work crews eventually razed the tennis facility, as True laid plans for a house he would develop on speculation as part of a new investment group that included Paul Courchene, owner of Courchene Development Group in Boca Raton. Others involved in the project are Roger Ogilbee and Janel Little, principal and vice president of Courchene Development Group, respectively.
At a never-lived-in Palm beach house developed on speculation, one can look straight through the living room to an open- air courtyard, a loggia and the backyard and pool area beyond. The house at 311 Polmer Park is listed at $39.995 million.
A short lake-block street at the corner of North Lake Way, Polmer Park is lined with houses developed in the Palm Beach Regency style during the 1960s and early 1970s by the late Robert W. Gottfried. That’s why True and his partners, working with architect Kevin Asbacher, chose to build their new home in a similar architectural style. On the north side of the street, the house appears to have only one level, complementing the look of other houses on the street.
“Robert Gottfried was the original owner of the estate at (301 Polmer Park) that we bought, and this street has not had a new house constructed on it for over 50 years,” True says. “We wanted the house to be in character with the other homes here.”
Construction is now complete, and the house at 311 Polmer Park comprises five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two half-baths. With a courtyard design and 9,500 square feet of living space, inside and out, the property has been listed, furnished, at $39.995 million by True, a longtime agent with the Corcoran Group. He also heads Cushing Investments LLC, which has bought, renovated, developed and sold multiple properties in Palm Beach.
The glass doors that front the open-air courtyard are open, providing access to the the living room and dining area, at the left, and the kitchen at the right. The layout was designed for entertaining, says real estate investor Richard C. True, who helped develop the house.
The residence has been completely furnished by Paul Courchene’s Insignia Design Group. Designer Keith Williams of Nievera Williams Design landscaped the grounds.
From the foyer, visitors pass along a gallery to the living and dining area, where a wall of pocket-style glass doors offers views of the open-air courtyard, which True describes as a tranquil “Zen garden.” Straight ahead to the north is an indoor-outdoor rear loggia with similar pocket doors facing the courtyard on one side and the lap pool on the other. As a result, foot traffic can flow unimpeded from the living area to the pool area, which has an outdoor walled shower and a summer kitchen.
Glass pocket doors in the loggia can be opened to the family room at the rear right. The courtyard is to the left.
“The house was bult for the outdoors and indoors becoming one, so when you pocket the doors into the walls, the Zen garden becomes part of the home’s indoors,” True says. “When you first walk in, it’s so open, you can see straight through (to the pool), which gives you a wonderful feeling.”
Floors throughout the house are covered in stone or wood. Ceiling heights on the main level range from 12 to 16 feet.
A highlight in the living area is a gas-powered fireplace with a book-matched marble surround, while the built-in cabinetry in the dining area incorporates a wet bar and a wine fridge. Over this space, the 16-foot ceiling is enhanced by crown molding and cove lighting.
In the east wing are two guest-bedroom suites, the main bedroom suite and the library, which could double as an en-suite guest bedroom, True says.
Details in the library include built-in bookshelves, a wood floor with a herringbone pattern and walls covered in a textured wallpaper.
The family room has a wood ceiling accented by recessed lighting. The loggia can be glimpsed at the left. The kitchen is in the rear.
The main bedroom suite was designed with a pair of custom-fitted walk-in closets and two bathrooms finished with book-matched marble. One of the baths features a glass-enclosed walk-in shower and free-standing soaking tub. The other bathroom has its own shower.
The bedroom accesses the loggia, which is detailed by a 16-foot ceiling and a gas fireplace with a surround made of cast stone and antiqued mirror.
Wide doorways in the loggia lead out to the pool area at the left and the courtyard at the right.
In the west wing are the family room and kitchen — both with pocket doors to the courtyard — and a guest-bedroom suite.
Open to the kitchen, the family room has a 12-foot beamed-and-paneled ceiling and wallpapered walls. The kitchen, which centers on a work island with a table extension, is finished with custom-designed cabinetry, stainless-steel-finished Wolf and SubZero appliances, and book-matched marble waterfall counters and backsplashes. A pantry is nearby.
An elevator and stairway lead downstairs to the entertainment level. Central to the lower floorplan is the club room, where the focal point is a glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled wine room that can accommodate 1,400 bottles. The club room also has paneled walls, a tray ceiling with cove lighting, and a gas fireplace with a stone surround.
Just adjacent are a kitchen, a card room, a billiards room, a gym and a full bathroom with a steam shower. There’s also a golf-simulation room and a 10-seat theater with a 150-inch screen and a projector.
On the lower level, the club room is the focal point, with a full kitchen to one side, a billiards table in the rear and a seating group positioned in front of the glass-walled, temperature controlled wine storage area.
Completing the overall layout are two powder rooms, a laundry room and a two-car garage. Other amenities include a generator and a Creston automation system.
“The house has so many different entertainment areas that when we had 50 people here, they were all spread out and it felt like there were only five. It’s such a wonderful entertaining house the way it’s laid out. Downstairs, (the entertainment spaces are) good for every age level, and its proximity to the (Palm Beach) Country Club and The Beach Club are important to people who want to live in the near North End.”
The recently completed house at 311 Polmer Park can be seen at the lower left, with the open-air courtyard visible through the roof.
A lap pool behind the house, which has classic elements of the Palm Beach Regency style, including a flat roof defined by simple cornices.
To see more photos of the house at 311 Polmer Park, click on the photo gallery near 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.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: With its courtyard design, new Palm Beach house asks $40M, furnished
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