1025 Grinnell Street, Key West

Just Listed, but not by me, 1025 Grinnell Street, Key West, Florida. This property is a legal duplex which is located in the south of Truman area in Old Town.  Look at the photo above and contrast it to the photo below taken fifty years ago which I found in my old shoe box.You will quickly see that the original front porch and side porch were both enclosed and that a cinder block fence added to the yard.

The existing house takes up about 70 percent or so of the lot. The rear 30 percent is big and open. There is plenty of space for a pool. The photo two above shows an existing six foot chain link fence which may not seem like a big deal, but in Key West that provides interesting possibilities if a new owner put a pool in this area because the fence could be replaced with a new wood fence of equal height. Our HARC rules would not allow that, but old fence heights are grandfathered according to my understanding of HARC guidelines. CLICK HERE to see more photos I took on a rainy Key West day.

I checked the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when this house was built. I couldn't. I did see a big empty lot on the corner with houses on both Grinnell and Virginia streets. There were three cottages (presumably cigar maker cottages) facing Virginia Street on the 1912 map but nothing in the front left corner. The house does stand in a bit of contrast to the two houses to the north.  

The corner lot runs 50' on Grinnell and 109' on Virginia Street. There are three driveways on this property - two on the Grinnell front and one on the Virginia rear side. This works well for the current owner. A new owner might retain the north side gated entry for the future off street parking and take down the others. In my opinion this would give a renovated home a better street facade. By the way the owner of the house located next door is 90 years old. She was born in that house and has lived there her entire life. I assume that home will be available for sale sometime in the future and chances are it will get renovated like all the other old Conch homes have in the past.

 The historic Key West fire station is located on the opposite side of the street. It's a museum now. But for decades it was the place that kept our little town safe from the ravages of fire. My friend and local folk artist Ronny Bailey's homage to the old station is shown above. The old neighborhood is getting gentrified. 1025 Grinnell Street will likely become a part of that gentrification.

The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this as being a 1239 sq ft home located on a 5425 sq ft lot. The records show the house was built in 1924 which may be correct given the bungalow style architecture. The first photo above shows what was the original screened in front porch. That area is now a part of the living area. You will see Dade County Pine on the walls and ceiling. This space is neatly maintained and could be kept as is and rented out as a one bedroom apartment. The rear unit has multiple rooms including a new kitchen. The rear unit could also be rented as a legal second unit the day after closing. Rental properties in Key West are scarce. This excellent Old Town location would make an easy rental.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1025 Grinnell Street which is offered for sale at $699,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.