611 Southard Street #5, Key West - Transient Licensed Condo in Old Town

Just Listed 611 Southard Street Unit #5, Key West, Florida. A total of eight unique units make up the historic Hollinshed House Condominiums located at the tip-top of Solaris Hill in Key West. This 577 sq ft third floor garret is one of five units in this building. There are three additional units located next door at 609 Southard Street. The historic building was built circa 1874.  The unit is an unpretentious one bedroom with lots of space for relaxed living. It has all of the modern amenities but retains the charm of the historic house.  And it has a very valuable asset that few condominiums on Old Town have - a transient rental license which allows an owner to rent the unit on a daily every day of the year.

611 Southard St as it appeared in 1965

The listing Realtor describes this property thus:

"Great opportunity to own an Old Town well established transient licensed apartment. The Hollinsed House (circa 1880's) was converted to 8 condominiums many years ago and has been well maintained and managed since then. Unit #5 is a large one bedroom unit on the third floor of the property. It has a queen bed, sleeper sofa, dining area, and private porch. Hollinsed House has a heated pool and lovely patio area and is conveniently located near the corner of Southard and Simonton St."

If you take a couple of moments to study the photos above you'll soon discover that the building is a Key West eyebrow house. Look back at the top photo of today's blog. See the multiple sets of windows located above the French doors on the second floor front porch. Those windows permitted the occupants of the historic house to have ventilation in the days way before air conditioning and probably before electric ceiling fans were invented. The covered porch allowed air to move about while still keeping water from getting inside the space. They also shaded the interior which otherwise might get warm.

Notice also the Dade County Pine walls and ceiling. So many places today have been gussied up so much with drywall, crown moldings, and engineered floors that we forget how quaint the old houses really are. Their simple beauty is what attracts many returning guests to come back to Key West year after year. I know a lot of people like the amenities offered at luxury hotels, but there are those other travelers who prefer to stay in a place that is unapologeticaly simple. This unit is for that owner or that traveler.

The bedroom is located in the rear addition of the building.  Skylights were added to bring light into this space. The guest closet is located at the side rear and the owner's lockout closet is at the far rear.

The living room has a little niche off to the left where French doors open out to the rear "deck". This is the emergency exit but it is also a really private space for gathering one's thoughts.

CLICK HERE to view more photos that I took of this unit and the grounds.  The bricked courtyard includes a small semi-covered area with a bar-b-que, access to the laundry, plus two first come first served off street parking spaces.

611 Southard Street #5 is offered for sale at $525,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a private showing of this transiently licensed condo located near everything. You just cannot ask for a more convenient location. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.