March 13, 2026, 5:06 a.m. ET
- Part of a duplex, a two-story townhouse is listed for sale at just under $19 million at 254 Brazilian Ave.
- The townhouse and its guesthouse have five bedrooms in all and 6,500 total square feet.
- The townhome was built in 1990 but has been updated over the years.
Mimi Matthews and her husband, the late Jack Matthews, were living in Village of Golf in South Palm Beach County when they bought their Palm Beach townhouse on Brazilian Avenue in 2005.
“We had built a great 6,000-square-foot house there, all on one floor. It was fabulous. But Jack kept wanting to be in Palm Beach,” Mimi says. “At the time, he was 68, and I said, ‘If you want to spend some time there, we better move.’”
And so move they did, settling on the townhouse at 245 Brazilian Ave. in Midtown, just south of Royal Palm Way near the corner of Hibiscus Avenue. Part of a duplex, the two-story townhouse shares a wall with another unit to the east.
The couple originally had moved to Palm Beach County from Washington, D.C. There, Jack was a real estate developer and builder, and Mimi, a designer and property manager, at their two companies, Bogart Properties Inc. and the Matthews Construction Co.
The couple quickly honed in on the Palm Beach townhome’s appeal.
Mimi Matthews says: “It has a great entryway. You come down the side and enter into the middle of the house. And I liked that the kitchen is to one side, with the living room and bar on the other side. And it also has a gorgeous back terrace and pool area — and then it backs up to the guesthouse. Outside, it’s kind of mesmerizing and very quiet.”
After her husband’s death six-and-a-half years ago, she continued to live in the townhouse. But she has since made the decision to move to a one-story home.
As such, the townhouse and its detached guesthouse — with a combined five bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms and 6,500 total square feet — has been offered for sale through agent Shelly Newman of the Corcoran Group. It’s priced at $18.99 million.
From the foyer and stair hall, foot traffic moves toward the street side of the house to the dining room, kitchen, family room, powder room and the two-car garage. On the other side are the living room and bar, opening to the awning-covered loggia and pool patio.
In addition to the stairway, an elevator ascends to the second floor, where the main bedroom suite features a balcony overlooking Brazilian Avenue. The suite comprises three walk-in closets and a bathroom with dual sinks, a tub and a shower.
A large guest bedroom suite is on the opposite side of the second floor. In between are an office, another bedroom and a laundry area.
In the guesthouse, a living area, kitchen, cabana bath and ensuite laundry are on the main floor with a pair of bedroom suites above them.
Both buildings overlook a large terrace and the townhouse’s private pool.
Because of their business experience, the couple was comfortable carrying out renovations, even though the townhouse — built in 1990 — was in good condition when they bought it, Matthews says.
“We updated it and gave it a little more of a light and airy feeling,” she explains. “We made it more user-friendly.”
The couple added a third set of French doors in the living room to access the loggia. Some of the ceilings were refinished in pecky cypress.
A big change took place in the foyer and stairhall.
“The stairs used to float,” Matthews says. “We closed that up and put in a niche.”
The stair wall also was refaced with wood in a chevron pattern.
They also studied another part of the floorplan. “Off the kitchen was a sort of a staff quarters,” Matthews explains, “and we took that and made it into our own little sitting space with a banquette, table and television, so it was like our private little dining area.”
A few years ago, she renovated the kitchen and bathrooms in the guesthouse.
While Matthews says she never imagined that she’d leave the townhome and move back to Village of Golf, she’s looking forward to living in the house she recently bought there. But she says she is going to miss the townhouse, Palm Beach and the amenities of living in Midtown, with its proximinty to dining and shopping venues.
“The convenience here is nice, she says. “You can walk to Cafe L’Europe and Cafe Boulud, and then La Goulue is around the corner and BrickTop’s. I mean, you name it, they’re right here.”
To see more photos of 245 Brazilian Ave., 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.
