522 Petronia Street - Key West

I recently showed 522 Petronia Street which is actually two Key West cottage style homes that were joined together to create one larger home as well as a larger plot of ground. If you have been reading my blog for a few years (there are some who have), you may remember other blogs I have written where two houses have been made into one. Those blogs include 1315 Eliza Street, not to be confused with 1319 Eliza Street, and 704 William Street.  Several years ago before housing prices became so high, it made economic and practical sense for a home owner to purchase an adjoining property so that two houses could be made into a larger property. This wedding of properties often provided additional living quarters and increased the lot size so that a pool and or parking could be added. In the case of 522 Petronia Street the resultant lot measures an approximate 95' X 57' or 5288 sq ft. The combined houses measure 1696 under air conditioning. (This does not include covered deck areas.)

I dug into my old shoebox and found photos of  522 Petronia and 524 Petronia as they appeared in 1965. The shed addition to 524 Petronia Street is gone. Today, that space provides off street parking.  Today the two houses are fenced and gated. Tall foliage almost hides the homes from view. Once you enter the yard you see an additon that joins the two houses.

When I stepped through the front door for the very first time my eyes were immediately drawn past the living space to the pool and gardens beyond. The sight is just inspiring. It is the kind of view would-be buyers aspire to have. My potential buyers wasted no time looking at bedrooms but instead headed straight out to the pool, deck, and gardens.

What I soon realized was that the backyard was truly something special to behold. Not only is the lot especially large, it also seems to extend far beyond the fenced boundary. The property to the immediate south is the side garden at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church. That garden is less densely populated with threes and shrubs than the Petronia house. The striking architecture of the church came into better view as I started to climb a stairway up to the rooftop sun deck. The deck is totally private and away from the view of any neighboring property.

When I returned to the house I immediately understood the house layout. The master suite is located in the east house which is the smaller of the two buildings. The original front porch is now a place to sit and watch the occasional pedestrian, bike, or car go by. But there is no access from inside the house. (The door is still in place but it is blocked from the inside.) The bedroom space is quite large. Notice that the ceiling is vaulted. A full bath and closet make up the balance of this house.

A future renovation might relocate the closet and bath to the front part of the house and move the sleeping area to the rear so that the owner would have pool and garden views. This is certainly not something that would be necessary, but I know I'd love to lay in bed and watch the plastic duck bobbing in the pool.

The foyer is extra large and takes up a lot of valuable real estate. Sliding glass doors from another generation look out to the pool while doorways open in to other parts of the larger house on the west side where the living room, kitchen and dining area, and guest bedroom and bath are located.

The west side of the house has one bedroom at the front and a second at the rear. The living room, dining area, and kitchen and sandwiched in between. This house is configured the way we used to build and design homes with separate rooms for separate purposes. A new renovation might reconfigure the usages just a bit. Perhaps a new great room with shared living, dining, and kitchen might be located in the spaces closest to poolside with two bedrooms located toward the front of the west side. The yard is extra large. A new owner might even consider adding a second story and perhaps reducing the ground floor area a bit to provide even more exterior landscaping. I do think the yard is a bit overgrown. I for one would give the trees a well deserved haircut. That would allow much more light to enter into this magical space. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this home.

522 Petronia Street if offered for sale at $1,195,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to see listing photos. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.