Son of The Projects of Key West

I moved to Key West at the end of December in 1993. I began noticing some of the old houses and buildings were getting renovated and then tried to recall what they looked like before. Over the years more and more houses had been renovated and the town no longer looked like it did when I first came here as a tourist and not even like it did after I moved here. I started my blog in late 2006 and started to take photos shortly thereafter. Later I decided to do periodic blog posts about the various renovations and occasional new houses and buildings which I refer to as The Projects of Key West. Today's post is a continuation of that series.

522 Grinnell Street as photographed in 2005 and lower in 2016. Quite a change. You probably wouldn't remember the rickety shutters with the Gore Lieberman poster. It is changes like this that inspired me to commemorate the projects of Key West. It's natural to forget what a house used to look like or what location on a busy street looked like before a former building was remodeled or replaced by a new structure. These photos may help us to recall what once was.

1314 Whalton Street

It was about ten years ago that I first blogged about this property which was a short sale short sale that could never get accomplished. The property just recently became a bank owned asset but it still has some complicated legal issues that scared off many would-be buyers. The location in the Casa Marina Area made this mess a must in my opinion. Someone bought it, took down the old houses, and has begun to build a new home. Ten years! CLICK HERE for more photos.

921 Johnson Street

The original house at 921 Johsnon Street was a mid-century house that sat on a 10,000 sq ft lot. It sold in December 2015 for $1,300,000. The original house was razed. This home is also located in the Casa Marina Area which is known for larger lots and proximity to the beaches. Some Realtors say that Johnson Street is the best street in the Casa Marina. I'm not sure about that. It is very pricey. CLICK HERE for more photos.

1425 Whalton Street

This was another mid-century home located at the corners of Von Phister and Whalton Streets in the Casa Marina Area purchased in 2018 for $1,175,000 and later razed for the construction of a new home. Lots in the Casa Marina Area are generally larger in size and less encumbered by building restrictions than homes in the Old Town area. Property values in the Casa Marina Area are on  par with those in Old Town. CLICK HERE to view more photos.

1209 Laird Street

The area just east of the Casa Marina has seen several new houses constructed in the past two years.  The original mid-century house at 1209 Laird Street was razed and a new 2403 sq ft house built in its place on a 5,280 sq ft lot.

1413 Von Phister Street

The original mid-century house at 1413 Von Phister Street was razed so that a new 1924 sq ft home with pool could be built in its place. I refer to this area as "Casa Marina East" but that's just me. Others call the area mid-town west. This house is located just one and a half blocks east of White in an area with many homes that are as nice as and some better than houses in the Casa. The value of the land here, however, is not equal to the Casa and that is why many mid-century homes in this area are being razed to build new houses.

830 Olivia Street

I wrote about 830 Olivia Street a couple of years ago when it was a bank owned property. While I considered it a buying opportunity, it was not without peril. There was a huge tree at the rear which complicated a meaningful renovation of the house. I understand that Hurricane Irma made the tree go away. Workers were installing a new roof the recent day I photographed the newly renovated house.

828 Elizabeth Street

I wrote about 828 Elizabeth Street around Christmas in 2014. It had been split into several illegal apartments. The second floor had a very low ceiling and seemed impossible to rehabilitate. An industrious buyer purchased the property, cleared away the trees and plants, lifted the house and put in new piers and elevated the house just a bit. A new section was added between the first and second floors to give height to the house whose roof line was dramatically altered from the original. A pool has been added at the rear. This house defies all that I understand about the guidelines of our Historical Architectural Review Commission. Trump must have piece of the action on this project. CLICK HERE for more photos.

411 Grinnell Street

411 Grinnell Street was renovated, expanded, and sold in 2016 for $2.8 million. The house was impeccably renovated from bottom to top and side to not all the way to the other side. The purchase price included the adjacent vacant lot which had a valuable ROGO building right. The new owner recently began the construction of an adjunct property which appears to include a garage.

732 Poorhouse Lane

Poorhouse Lane is one the picturesque little lanes in Old Town that lures romantics to buy a little fixer house. Such is the case for 732 Poorhouse Lane shown in the black and white photo from 1965.  In 2018 I was driving down the lane to show another house on the market when I snapped a couple of photos. I have been back a couple of times since. Progress is being made. But not quickly. CLICK HERE for more photos.

522 Simonton Street

522 Simonton Street sat vacant for a couple of years after the previous owner left the property. Restoration began in early 2018 as the new owner started what he expects to be a three year project to return this beautiful old home.

744 Windsor Lane

This property consists of two historic homes which were joined into one larger home several years ago. The current owner recently completed a significant renovation to the home and grounds. Craig Reynolds did the landscape design. Mark Harris did the installation.

530 William Street

The two story home located at 530 William Street is one of the prettiest houses in Old Town. It sits on a pretty small lot for such a large and potentially very expensive home upon renovation. Most buyers who spend a lot of money on property want a pool and parking. I always thought that would be an impossibility. The duplex next door to the west at 725-727 Southard Street is owned by the same owner. The owner received permission for a street cut and will soon have parking. And a small pool is being built between the two properties. I  caution buyers who want to add a pool to a small lot that city rules preclude this from happening. I guess I am mistaken.

726 Southard Street

I took the top photo of this series in 2014 when I showed a larger house at the corner of Love Lane at Southard Street. During the past year 726 Southard Street has undergone its own transformation. It joins a group of smaller houses that make this block of Old Town particularly pretty.

711 Olivia Street

This charming smaller home with garage is being renovated. The garage was razed. A new addition plus pool will be added.  CLICK HERE for more photos.

618 William Street

618 William Street is the only home in Old Town that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma.  This was the former home of the late Shel Silverstein ("A Boy Named Sue"). I took the top photo the afternoon after Irma had passed the island of Key West. Several larger trees fell on William Street. Two banyan trees collapsed onto the house. Several other large trees on William Street and Windsor Lane also toppled but did not cause building damage. CLICK HERE to see more photos of the destruction and new photos of the construction.

221 Petronia Street

The Monroe County Property Appraiser records show 221 Petronia Street was built in 1889. The property was made into a multi-unit rental several years ago. The property was damaged by a fire and later became bank owned. The property was then listed for sale in March 2015 with an Asking Price of $299,990 and Sold for $460,000 (not a typo). The property has been under renovation since January 2016. Visitors to Key West may recognize this property as being located about one-half block west of Blue Heaven Restaurant and one block east of Santiago's Bodega. It is the location and the large lot that made this property so attractive to buyers in 2015. The Bahama Village Area of Key West has continued to emerge as an attractive and less expensive alternative to higher priced homes in Old Town.

1215 Truman Avenue

The Grand Conch House (Greek Revival) located at 1215 Truman Avenue is an example of many recent renovations where renovations made twenty to thirty years ago are being updated and finessed. The black and white photo shows the house as it appeared in 1965. The next photo shows it in 2017. A previous owner updated the house and added a pool. The current owner is presently painting the exterior and has added shutters which dramatically improve the exterior appearance. CLICK HERE for more photos.

1107 Southard Street

1107 Southard Street was the perfect example of a genuine Conch home which had been lived in by generations of the same family. The double dormers were added to the roof sometime before 1965 when the black and white photo at the top was taken. Renovation was started only to be halted for several months after Hurricane Irma. The house was completed just before Christmas 2018. Landscaping is yet to be completed. CLICK HERE for more photos including interior shots.

1109 Fleming Street

 This eyebrow house has been under renovation for more than two years. The property is quite large and includes a guest cottage at the rear together with off street parking accessed by Stickney Lane (entrance off White Street). Although this property was not damaged by Hurricane Irma, the block  suffered some of the worst tree loss. 

I wrote about a blog post 1117 Fleming Street a few years back when two giant banyan trees complicated the redevelopment of the house and lot. Hurricane Irma took down the banyans, crushed the front porch of the neighboring building, smashed a motorcycle parked in front, and made Fleming Street totally impassable for about a week.  CLICK HERE to view many photos of 1109 Fleming and the repairs to nearby homes.

421 Simonton Street - Completed
Just about everybody in town has driven or walked by 421 Simonton Street at sometime. The 1912 Historic Sanborn Fire Map shows two nearly identical buildings situated next to each other and identified as  A and B.at what is now identified as 421 Simonton Street. The 1899 Sanborn Fire Map shows a single totally different which had existed for at least ten years earlier. This suggests the two twin buildings were built sometime between 1899 and 1912.  A narrow concrete block addition was added to the two buildings replacing the original front porches. This concrete addition was used as commercial space for decades until March 2017 when the concrete block facade was removed and renovation of the historic buildings began. Photos taken hours after Hurricane Irma passed Key West showed no damage to either building which is remarkable as they theoretically stood vulnerable to the driving winds. Nothing happened to either structure.

While I think the buildings ended up looking very attractive, the fence detracts from the property as a whole. There is no landscaping and no sense of style. The buildings will be used as transient rentals. Perhaps that explains that while they are finished, they are incomplete.  CLICK HERE to see many more photos from start to finish.

2319 North Roosevelt Blvd

The former Banana Bay Resort and nearby Fairfield Inn were taken down in December 2018 to make way for a new town home development. CLICK HERE for more photos which I intend to update.

2200 North Roosevelt Blvd.

2200 North Roosevelt Blvd was the site of the first Burger King in Key West. In recent years it was a YAMAHA store. In December 2018 workers start to disassemble the building which today is a glass shell. The word is this will be a new bank. It puzzles me how this building can get renovated and be in compliance with the build back rules. CLICK HERE for more photos.

If you are a potential buyer of a home in Key West and are not working with someone, give me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, a phone call or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.