Built by the Calig Land Company, a subsidiary of Calig Steel Drum Company of Pittsburgh, and designed by West Palm Beach architect Norman N. Robson (1925–2015), this 95-unit, horseshoe-shaped structure originally was planned as a residential hotel, featuring amenities such as a beauty salon, maid service, and room service. Costing $1.5 million to construct, The President debuted in 1963, facing the “lake,” meaning the Intracoastal Waterway, and a private yacht basin. Located just south of and adjoining the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Club, The President offered much to outdoorsy types.
Other features included a large, free-form, saltwater swimming pool in the patio. But access to the biggest saltwater source of them all, the Atlantic Ocean, came via landscaped paths that connected The President to a private beach and cabanas. By 1970, the building, which had been purchased for $3 million the year before by the Perini Corporation, went condo.