618 Petronia Steet - Atop Solares Hill - Key West

 618 Petronia Street - Old Town - Key West

The house at 618 Petronia Street is worth looking at if you are a reasonably priced house in Old Town Key West that is in livable condition but which could be upgraded and improved upon as well.

The house is located near the highest point on Solares Hill - the highest point on the Island of Key West. I searched the Monroe County Property Appraiser records and old photos and learned the houses in the immediate area were built right after the end of World War II. Records show 616 and 618 Petronia was built in 1948. This is important in that the two historic photos I found of both houses show how much different 618 Petronia appeared a few years later after the front masonry addition was added and stucco added to cover the original wood siding.

616 Petronia - 1965

616 Petronia - 2012

 The original house (and current configuration) is a wood frame house that is more typical bungalow style house than cigar maker's cottage. The gable roof is not as high or as pitched. Note the house has a wood frame "addition" on the right front. Other houses on this block appear quite similar but all have been modified a bit differently.

618 Petronia - 1965

 

618 Petronia - 2012

 It looks to me as though the original house at 618 Petronia Street was expanded by the masonry addition at the front. This addition includes the front porch on the left and the third bedroom on the right. I believe a second addition was added at the rear where the kitchen is now located. A rear covered patio at the rear has been enclosed and seems to now function as a family room. The original house is still intact and consists of the living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The house has several floor elevations and floor surface materials. Some interior walls are 1950's wood panel (the kind you see in rec rooms and trailers) while other spaces are plaster over masonry.

 Front porch

The kitchen

Family room

It looked to me as though much of the original house got a stucco exterior when the front addition was added many years ago. The house next door at 616 Petronia Street is almost identical and it has "novelty siding". (Manley deBoer Lumber in Key West still sells novelty siding.)  I think the houses are the same and I expect 618 Petronia would have had the same siding were it not for the stucco. I'm a believer in wood and I think this house would benefit immensely from the removal of the entire masonry and the rear additions. I would replace the front with a period correct front porch. I'd restore the wood siding all over the the house. I would remove the clam shell awnings and replace with shutters that are more in keeping with the way Key West cottages look today. Finally, I would replace the kitchen and add a new rear porch.  I think you could come up with a mighty charming home to keep to yourself or that you could easily rent as a vacation rental. There are several homes in the immediate area that are used that way.

The rear yard is immense. (The Monroe County Property Appraiser's map shows the lot as being 32 feet wide by 189.33 feet in depth.) There is room for a huge pool. There is even room for an accessory unit (a mother-in-law cottage).  This space is just incredible. 

 I spotted huge an avocado tree, a lime tree, a key lime tree, and a sour orange tree in the rear yard. This lot is just incredible. It offers so much for future development.

CLICK HERE to  view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet on this property. A new owner doesn't have to do any of the remodeling I suggested. The place works just fine the way it is. But it could be so much better. And at the asking price of $459,900 it is worth looking at.

If you would like to look at this property or any other house in Key West please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.