1117 Watson Street - Key West - Conch Grove Compound - A Singular Sensation

1117 Watson Street, Key West is located two blocks west of White Street and two blocks south of Truman Avenue in the Conch Grove Compound which consists of thirteen cottages and single family houses that share a large sunny and heated pool, gardens, and off street parking. Each cottage or house owns the property in fee simple - just like your home up north in America. But all property owners share ownership of all of the common areas. Each cottage or house is unique. Some cottages are pretty small. A couple of the houses are quite large. So the compound does not look like a Disney version of Key West. It is the real thing. Writer James Kirkwood, co-author of “A Chorus Line”, was one of the first homeowners in the Conch Grove Compound. He knew a thing or two about a singular sensation.

The listing Realtor describes 1117 Watson Street as a

"Totally renovated from top to bottom! This 1 bedroom pied-a-terre is located in the unique Conch Grove Compound in Old Town Key West. The floor plan is very open and features a vaulted ceiling. The loft square footage is a bonus (not included in the MLS square footage). The loft area is open and overlooks the living room. The 3227 square foot lot features a raised brick patio and lush garden area. This cottage has a new roof, new floors, new kitchen cabinets/countertops, new high end appliances, new washer/dryer and a custom artisan seascape bathroom. Shared off-street parking for one car. The large community pool with gazebo is surrounded by lush landscaping. Beautifully decorated and furnished. Ready for the new owner to move in."

 If you read about this house before or if you saw it when it was previously listed, you may remember that the previous owners used the front room as the bedroom. While the original entry door stayed in place on the left side of the front porch, the actual entry to the house was located on the south side of the house. A fair amount of internal floor space was used to create a stairway to a second level loft which was very cramped and that had no practical utility. It was claustrophobic!  Seriously, detective Adrian Monk would have flipped out over the cramped space.  The current owner removed the loft sleeping area and stairway. The entry was relocated back to the front porch but reversed to the south side.

The above photo shows the front entry door on the left. The single bedroom is on the right. There is a new kitchen, updated interiors, new bath, and a totally new aura to this 680 sq ft one bedroom cigar maker cottage.

Not shown in the mls nor do I have any photos that show the large backyard that belong to this unit. One of the joys of owning a place in Key West is having a large enough piece of the outdoors where you can enjoy our wonderful Key West weather.  There is a clearing between the trees that leads through the big green lawn to the pool and sunning area.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and listing photos of 1117 Watson Street.  This one bedroom one bath cigar maker's cottage is offered at $675,000.  Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing.I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.  Instead of meeting with architects, builders, and decorators, spend this summer by the big sunny pool getting the tan of your life.

1117 Watson Street - Old Town - Key West

Just Listed, but not by me, 1117 Watson Street in Old Town Key West. You have seen this same house on my blog a couple of times over the years.  But you have not seen it the way it looks now because the house has been totally updated and give a new houseanality. 

I searched the Historic Sanborn Maps to see if I could determine when the cigar maker cottage was built. The first map dates back to 1889 and it shows houses that existed as of that date.  1117 Watson Street was on that map except back then it was numbered 211 Watson Street.  I am making an assumption here that the number 211 Watson was given because Watson Street began at Division Avenue, which is now known as Truman Avenue.  This house is in the second block of Watson Street. In looking at the map I learned that numerous cigar numerous other cigar maker cottages fronted on to Watson Street while others ran perpendicular east from Watson.  In the 1912 map a wide space just south of the adjacent house was identified as "On Set Court".  That space today is where the shared pool in the Conch Grove Compound is located.

I then dug down into my old shoebox and found a photo of 1117 Watson Street that was taken in 1965. It is shown immediately below. I created a new image that shows the same house nearly fifty years apart. Take a look at all the changes.

This visage is now "history". The entry door is reversed to the south side and provides real access once again.

 If you read about this house before or if you saw it when it was previously listed, you may remember that the previous owners used the front room as the bedroom. While the original entry door stayed in place on the left side of the front porch, the actual entry to the house was located on the south side of the house. A fair amount of real estate was used to create a stairway to a second level loft that was very cramped and that had no practical utility. It was claustrophobic!  Seriously, detective Monk would have flipped out over the cramped space.  The current owner removed the loft sleeping area and stairway. The entry was taken back to the front porch but reversed to the south side.

The above photo shows the front entry door on the left. The single bedroom is on the right. There is a new kitchen, updated interiors, new bath, and a totally new aura to this 680 sq ft one bedroom cigar maker cottage.

The Conch Grove Compound is an assemblage of twelve homes many of which were original cigar maker cottages that were updated by different owners over the years. James Kirkwood (co-author of A Chorus Line) and the late David Kaufelt were among the original compound owners.  All homes share the large and sunny pool and park-like common areas.  The monthly association fee is $200 which covers common area and pool maintenance. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and listing photos of 1117 Watson Street.  This one bedroom one bath cigar maker's cottage is offered at $675,000.  Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing.I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.  Instead of meeting with architects, builders, and decorators, spend this summer by the big sunny pool getting the tan of your life.