I am Back in Key West

 

My Key West Properties Real Estate Blog is up and running once again. I spent the last couple of weeks in Paris where my spirits were rejuvenated to a level I have not experienced in several years. The skies were sunny and the temperature warm but cooler and less humid than my Key West. I walked the streets to various restaurants and felt safe all the time. The food ranged from very good to memorable. (I had been on a diet the last few months and lost thirty pounds. I feared all pate would add the pounds back. But the walking kept me and my friend at our same body weight - mildly plump.) The Parisians could not have been any nicer. They are thinner and better looking than Americans even though many of them seem to sit at the little sidewalk cafes for hours on end drinking coffee and eating incredible pastries.

 I stayed in a beautiful fifteenth century apartment located across the street from a park in the Marais.  The area was dotted with little cafes and upscale shops including a patisserie a couple of blocks away where I bought baguettes and pastries each day. (By the way, the French pay less for their food than what we pay in Key West.) The sidewalks were more narrow than our in Key West - this kept me looking up and down and all around - dodging and stepping into the street and out of the way. I managed to see this little piece of art which made me stop, smile, and take a picture to remember how important little things are in life.

While I had been to Paris many times over the years, I saw the city as if this were my very first visit. I walked everywhere taking in each sight as if for the very first time. I stopped to check out the real estate listings on numerous occasions in different neighborhoods. While I don't read French, I could figure out how large the apartments were and how much they cost. The asking prices made me rethink the pessimism I have been having about housings prices in Key West.  I particularly admired a building a couple of doors away from our apartment at 12 Parc Royal. Then I saw unit in that building which was offered at $1,650,000 Euros or $1,937,574 US Dollars. Later that day I was walking in the Rive Gauche area and found an apartment with a great view - it was listed in the $6 million Euro range. I also compared less expensive one bedroom and studio apartments in both areas. They were priced higher than Key West and offered less space and practical or comfortable living spaces. At least that is my opinion. I'm pretty sure it is the location that drives prices in Paris just like it does in Key West. Even if I had the money to buy Rive Gauche apartment, I wouldn't feel comfortable in that area just like I wouldn't feel comfortable on the upper East Side of New York. The Marais fit my needs both as to price and area in which I would like to live. Comfort level as to price and desirable location is transferable to Key West, Los Angeles, or Omaha. It is universal.  

The architecture awed me on nearly every street. The palaces and pied-à-terres just overwhelmed me. I kept trying to figure out how architects and builders from centuries before modern engineering and mechanical equipment were able to build the subways, cathedrals, palaces and everyday apartment buildings. Almost every building I saw was grand beyond what I am used to in Key West. And that grandness, that boldness of design and execution, made me appreciate the simplicity of our little houses in Key West and the little lanes on which so many of our houses are located. I remembered that it was the simplicity of our little island out in the middle of the ocean that lured so many of us non-Conchs to move here - along with the simple life we all desired to live. 

If you are looking to buy a house or pied-à-terre in Key West, please consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I don't speak French, but I do speak plane English. 

The Case of the Traveling Sofas in Key West

I moved to Key West Christmas week in 1993. I had purchased the former Eaton Lodge guesthouse located at 511 Eaton Street. The building had been shut down for about two years while the property was being foreclosed upon by the Small Business Administration.  The windows and doors were boarded up to keep thieves and the homeless out.  The former owners left all of the furnishings including antique pieces of furniture acquired by their predecessors plus two white slip covered sofas of recent origin which were located  in the living room of the house once  owned William Warren, the town doctor. After we took possession we decided to keep the Eastlake pieces and all of the wood furniture but opted to put the two sofas out on the street. We knew someone would want those sofas even if we didn't.

We had barely got the second sofa placed on the sidewalk when this older man stopped and asked what we were doing and inquired if he might have the sofas. We had not had time to put the cushions on the sofas. He was delighted to learn that the sofas had cushions as well. Then he asked if we could hold the sofas until he could get a friend to help him move the sofas. I said yes. My partner and I moved the sofas back inside until the man returned with a younger man in his late thirties or early forties. I helped the younger man put thes sofas in his aged Toyota. He made several trips carrying the sofas and cushions to some other location. The older man introduced himself as David Wolkowsky.

A year or so later my partner and I started to look at houses in Key West including a a newly built spec house on Admirals Lane in Truman Annex. I recall the asking price was $500,000.  The builder was David Wolkowsky. My two former sofas were located in the living room of this house. I laughed. I did not buy the house. I should have. That house is now worth around $2,000,000.

A few years later I saw the same two sofas inside a house David Wolkowsky had renovated on Washington Street in the Casa Marina East area,

I saw those same two sofas for the very last time on March 15, 2015 during an early evening Realtors Open House. This time they were located poolside near the giraffe. David Wolkowsky was hosting this open house to attract agents to sell another of his renovation projects.

I got a phone call a couple of years ago from David. He had just finished a renovation on property which abutted a house I had listed. He called me to discuss the outrageous price I had on my listing. I told him the seller set the price, not me. He sounded genuinely angry at the price. He said "Do you know who I am?" I said I did. He sold his house. My listing did not sell and has still not sold.

David Wolkowsky

David Wolkowsky died Sunday night. He was 99 years old. An article in the Miami Herald included this passage:

"He had celebrated his birthday on Aug. 25 in true Wolkowsky style: a house full of free-spirited guests, clouds of white orchids, popping champagne corks and his sister, Ruth Greenfield of Miami, a classically trained concert pianist and civil rights pioneer, playing happy birthday on the grand piano as the crowd sang along. He presided from the white couch, dressed in linen, his trademark Panama hats stacked nearby. And instead of receiving gifts, he gave them: a black pearl necklace in a jeweler’s box for each of the several dozen women who attended."

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article218928945.html#storylink=cpy

Key West - One Year After Hurricane Irma

Key West has been my home since December 1993. I have stayed in Key West for each of the hurricanes since Hurricane Georges in 1998 which recurred while I was in Ft Lauderdale attending a real estate refresher course. I remember the drive back to Key West on US 1 - a trip that normally take four hours took ten. I decided never do that again.

In late August 2018 CNN and other media started to warn the public about Hurricane Irma as it formed in the Atlantic.  The enormous storm moved at a terribly slow pace as it headed towards Cuba and Florida. The storm was so wide that hurricane models were unable to predict the exact path it would take. As I recall CNN predicted a tidal surge of up to ten feet and warned of catastrophic disaster for Key West. Many locals who always stayed here decided to leave for Irma. I estimate that about 25 to 30 per cent of locals stayed in Key West - including me.

I drove around the island a couple times during the days preceding Irma's landfall. There was barely any traffic. Stores on Duval Street were boarded up. The hotels and guest houses were shut. Houses were shuttered. The high school parking lot was filled with cars in anticipation of flooding in low lying areas. The skies alternated between awesome blue with enormous cumulus clouds to gray and threatening as Irma headed our way. I hunkered down with a friend in Old Town. We lost power around 8:00 PM. I went to bed and woke up the next morning to mild but constant rain and wind which lasted for an eternity. I ventured outside a couple of times to test the conditions but decided to stay indoors because tree limbs were falling everywhere. Around 3:00 PM we went for a walk around Old Town and later drove to the Bayview Park and Casa Marina areas where I took photos of the damage. I thought it would be interesting for readers to compare the locations one year later.

One of the first sights I saw was a huge mahogany tree that fell across the 300 block of Simonton Street. That tree was one of many canopy trees we lost in the storm. In my opinion it was the loss of the trees was the biggest loss during this event.

The boarded up houses at 421 Simonton Street were being renovated when the hurricane occurred. They were not damaged. The renovation has just been completed.

The Curry Mansion lost a huge tree at its front entry. The building did not appear to have sustained any visible damage.

Another huge tree located at the corner of Caroline at Simonton Street had fallen. The former Banana's Foster property on the corner was not damaged.

I walked to the corner of Eaton and Elizabeth Streets where a new property at 700 Eaton was being built and the historic house at 704 Eaton was being renovated. Neither was damaged. The renovation was recently completed and the house at 704 Eaton was listed for sale. It went under contract in just seven days on the market.

A massive tree located on the side of the Eaton Street Fish Market fell across William Street. The uprooted tree hoisted a propane tank up about ten feet off the ground. I turned around and looked south on William Street where a huge mahogany blocked the 500 block. I walked east to Margaret Street.

When I neared got near the corner of Margaret and Southard Street I saw a banyan tree leaning against the Harris School. As I got closer I saw several more trees had fallen on the school grounds. The building was not damaged. I walked west on Southard Street to checkout two nearby houses I had sold. Both houses were fine, but the owner of one beautiful home lost his prized Date Palm.

The biggest shock of the afternoon occurred when I reached the corner of Southard and William Streets. I had always considered the 600 block of William Street to be one of the prettiest streets in Old Town. Irma changed that. Two giant banyan trees fell onto the late Shel Silverstein's house which was badly damaged. The house was razed several months later. This is the only house I am aware of that we lost. There was minor damage to three abutting properties. 

I walked south on William Street to the corner of Windsor Lane where I looked to my right and saw two huge trees had fallen at the Key West Writer's Compound.  The trees were located on either side of the former home of author John Hersey. The trees took down the fence and crushed a motorcycle parked on Windsor Lane. I sold this historic home several years ago. I walked around the property and determined it was not damaged. The fence was rebuilt. The owners now have sunny views.

The 1100 block of Fleming Street (between Frances and White Streets) was closed for more than a week because two enormous banyan trees in front of 1117 Fleming Street fell onto the street. One big limb damaged the porch of the adjacent house which is now being repaired.

Later I drove over to the 1400 block of Virginia Street to checkout a house across from Bayview Park. I had this house a couple of years ago and wanted to make sure it was okay. Two big trees snapped in half. The house did not have any visible sign of damage.  The city did not take the trees down.

I then went to the Casa Marina area where I saw another giant banyan tree located at 1100 Flagler Avenue had fallen. This is the former home of author Judy Blume. The current owners are now extending a brick fence to add more privacy to this home.

The house under construction in the 1000 block of Washington was not damaged and was recently completed and is now being lived in.

"X" marks the spot at the corner of Washington and Whalton Streets where one of the tallest and most majestic trees in Key West fell. It took the city more than three weeks to remove the tree. The tree was located on the public right of way. The city requires property owners to pay significant fees to obtain permission to remove trees during construction. These funds are supposed to be used pay for replacement trees. The city has not replaced anything at this location. Double loss!

CLICK HERE to view photos I took before and after Hurricane Irma.

Key West is back to as normal as Key West can be. We have a lot less trees than before, but we have as many houses less one. This is a great place to live. Come down and checkout Key West.