The asking price on the cute little one bedroom single family home at
1105 Olivia Street in Old Town
Key West was just reduced from $439,000 to
$395,000. I did a quick check of our mls and learned that 1105 Olivia Street is the
second least expensive home in Old Town.
CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to see listing photos.
This property is located a little over one-half block east of the
Key West cemetery and one block north of Truman Avenue in the southeast
quadrant of Old Town. I dug deep into the proverbial old shoebox and
found the photo above which was taken back in 1965 when 1105 Olivia
Street was FERNANDEZ CLEANERS. If you look just beyond the square
facade you see the outline of the simple cigar maker cottage that
pre-dates the commercial use. I then went to the Sanborn Map of 1889
and found the house abutting the city sidewalk. That review satisfied me
to that this old house was built before 1889.
The house itself has been updated over the years, but I suspect
that a new owner may do a new renovation of this old house. I am mindful
that the 623 sq ft home has only one bedroom, but it does have a great
Old Town location and it has the potential to convert an existing
cistern into a dip pool. That, Dear Readers, makes this new listing
worthy of your consideration.
The listing Realtor describes this property this way:
"Old Town sleeper. Behind the gated entrance is a one bedroom one bath
cottage with a private rear courtyard. High ceilings in the
living/dining room along with a wall of windows provides light and
tropical ambiance. There is an eat-in kitchen, renovated bath and
good-size bedroom. A little renovation will produce an Old Town Jewel!"
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| Living room looks out to what might be the pool area |
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| Update this kitchen |
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| Convert the concrete cistern into a dip pool |
The 1889 Sanborn Map shows the house located right on
the City property line with a very large rear yard. The current
Property Appraiser map shows the lot at 20' x 55'. The house itself is
40 feet in length which leaves 15 feet for the creation of a small pool.
A new owner would probably need to convert the old cistern into a dip
pool as building code would limit new construction. I do believe code
would permit the conversion but a new buyer would need to verify this
before relying on what I "believe" to be permissible.
Most
of the cottages and larger homes in the immediate neighborhood have
been updated. Some of the properties have small pools but most do not
have off street parking. You must remember that this area (once referred
to as Pohalski Village) was mostly cigar maker cottages on situated on
small lots. That has not changed in the decades since the houses were
built. Back in the old days the residents walked to work and to
neighborhood stores.
In today's more modern world off
street parking is very limited in this area. Most owners park their cars
on the street. Most of the residences in this area are single family
homes. There is commercial activity up on Truman Avenue one block to the
south. There is little to no "spill over" of parking from those
businesses into this neighborhood.
This
is the area where you will find most of the local gyms and yoga salons.
And Duval Street is only a five to seven minute walk. The Historic Key
West Seaport is also located within a short walk to the north. I like
to point out that you don't have to have a pool in your backyard to
enjoy a pool. Dante's is located at the Seaport. Locals go there on a
regular basis to lounge by the pool. They usually buy some burgers and
booze, but that is less expensive than paying the cost of operating a
pool everyday of the year and paying for pool maintenance.
CLICK HERE to view more photos that I took of the property. If you would like to see 1105 Olivia Street or any other listing in Key West please contact me,
Gary Thomas,
305-766-2642 to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.
