Historic lakefront home in Regents Park to be raised 2 feet as part of major makeover

A lakefront home in one of Palm Beach’s designated residential historic districts is getting a major facelift. 

© [Courtesy of SKA Architect + Planner]
This lakefront home at 500 Regents Park will undergo a major renovation and will be raised about two feet. The home, built in 1959, was purchased last year by jazz )

Exterior and interior renovations are planned for the 7,300-square-foot Palm Beach Regency-style home in Regents Park, which is immediately south of Mar-a-Lago.

The home, at 500 Regents Park, also will be raised by about 2 feet to comply with town regulations, architect Jackie Albarran said.

Plans for the renovations were presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Wednesday.

“This is mostly restoration,” said Albarran, a Commission member and architect with SKA Architect + Planner in Palm Beach. “It’s not in great shape, especially on the north and south side. It still has window units. We’re planning to restore it to its original drawings.”

The home is owned by jazz musician Robert “Bob” A. Merrill, who purchased it from businessman Eddy J. Louis last March for $7.5 million.

Merrill is among the radio personalities who plays standards from the “Great American Songbook” on Palm Beach County-based radio station Legends 100.3 FM.

The house had been on and off the market for the past 15 years with different agencies at prices ranging from $12.9 million in late 2004 to $25 million in 2018, according to the local multiple listing service.

The one-story, six-bedroom home, which was designed and built by developer Clarence Mack in 1959, stands on a half-acre lot facing about 100 feet of the frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway.

It is one of five homes at Regents Park, and the one closest to the water. Three of the homes have been remodeled recently, Albarran said.

Planned renovations for the home include replacing all the windows with impact-rated wood units; removing and replacing the garage doors; reconfiguring the covered terrace; updating the kitchen and bathrooms; installing a new pool, spa, patios and landscaping; and replacing existing asphalt at the front steps with pavers.

“The whole point is to restore the home to the original,” Albarran said.

Construction can begin once the Town Council approves a handful of variances that the  homeowner is requesting, Albarran said. The council will hear that request next month.

Regents Park was designated as an Historic District by the town in May 2015.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Historic lakefront home in Regents Park to be raised 2 feet as part of major makeover