By CHRISTINE DAVIS
Special to the Daily News

Irene Athans, a general contractor who was headquartered in Tampa for many years, began tackling renovation projects in Palm Beach after she moved into a condominium on South Ocean Boulevard six years ago.

I had found this 1970s apartment with a kitchen enclosed within four walls and saw the capability of opening it all up to take advantage of the views, Athans recalls. Its all about lifestyle.

And because her apartment is on the first floor, she can walk out her door and be on the beach within moments.

I used to live in a penthouse, she says. I like this better.

Over the last half-dozen years, she has renovated a dozen other apartments for resale, all in the same area of town. She recently completed work on two oceanview units, which she has listed for sale with Scott Gordon Realty in Manalapan.

Both apartments have three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. One condo a fourth-floor unit with 2,900 square feet of living space, inside and out, at Sloans Curve, 2000 S. Ocean Blvd. is priced at $1.399 million. The other unit is in the same building where she lives: a ground-floor condo with 4,100 square feet in the 2500 Building at 2500 S. Ocean Blvd., just south of the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course. Its listed for $1.799 million.

Im having fun doing these, Athans says, noting that the inventory of renovated apartments on the market in the South End remains tight.

After buying the Sloans Curve unit last year at auction, Athans set about planning its renovation. That included covering all the floors in crema marfil marble, except in the foyer, where she used exotic lava wood.

You can entertain beautifully from the kitchen. It has top-of-the line appliances and special granite. And the cabinetry is well constructed with dovetailed drawers. The center island can be used for serving, and I built in the dining room table to maximize space in the living room.

Also notable are the variety of wall finishes: Venetian plaster in the entry, a warm French glaze in the master bathroom and faux-bois painting on the rear of the front door that mimics the entrys lava wood.

The other condo is several blocks to the south in the 2500 Building. Like her own residence there, No. 2C1 is on the ground floor, which meant she could approach the remodeling project practically as if she were tackling new construction.

You can bore down into the floor for new plumbing, so I could change the floor plan around and add a bathroom, Athans explains. I gutted the whole thing, and flipped the master and guest bedrooms.

Today, the master bedroom has views of the ocean, while the second bedroom captures vistas of the Intracoastal Waterway. Double 8-foot doors with etched glass delineate the two suites.

Plans also called for enlarging the master bathroom and installing a bubble tub and an enhanced vanity area. Overall, she opened up the apartments space, reconfiguring the layout of the kitchen and adding a secret laundry room. Removing a corner in the entry and bar area provided better views of the ocean.

The new floor plan also included space for a new powder room.

Floors throughout the apartment and on its terraces are covered in Jerusalem stone that has been given a chiseled edge and laid in the irregular pattern known as Asher.

Athens also brought both apartments up to todays building codes with impact-resistant windows and doors while adding zoned air conditioning systems and prewiring the units for electronics.

Ive always cared to choose the better products, because quality wins out in the long run, she says.

The way Athans looks at it, the time is ripe for builders and designers with staying power to invest in condominium rehab projects, especially around Sloans Curve, an area completely built out with buildings that are at least 25 years old.

Theres just so much of this strip. Nature is not going to create any more, and no one is going to nuke an old building to build a new condo.

Call broker Scott Gordon at (561) 346-4141 for more information about No. 2C1 in the 2500 Building at 2500 S. Ocean Blvd. and No. 407N in Sloans Curve, 2000 N. Ocean Blvd.