713 Windsor Lane, Key West Writers Compound

 

The new listing at 713 Windsor Lane may appeal to buyers looking for a Key West getaway in a great Old Town location. It's a lock-and-leave with added income potential to help defray part of the cost of ownership which does not require sharing personal living space with strangers on rotating basis. The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"In the perfect Old Town location (X Flood zone) combined with a secluded community of 11 homes, this quiet Cigar Maker's cottage is reserved for those who enjoy peaceful living and are 55 years of age and older. Completely renovated in 2003, the main home is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cottage with porches in the front and rear. Upstairs is a beautiful 1 bedroom,1 bathroom apartment rented annually at $1800/month with tree top views of the wonderfully maintained grounds. The kitchens and bathrooms have been renovated with wooden cabinets and granite counter tops. Enjoy your morning coffee on the front or back covered porch. This tropical oasis enjoys a huge shared pool and deck area. Come see this unique property in Windsor Village and make it your Piece of Paradise!"

 

The first floor lays out like a typical Key West cottage with central hallway leading to the living areas. The great room is located on the left side where one set of French doors open to the covered rear porch. The guest bedroom (twin beds) is located at the front. The master bedroom is at the rear where French doors also open out to the covered rear porch. Notice the stairs. They lead tot he one bedroom apartment on the second floor. This home is located at the westernmost edge of the compound - there are no neighbors passing by.

Entry to the main floor living area  is through the front gate. The covered porch is the perfect perch to people watch. I added the photos at the top of the blog to show the porch is both elevated and privatized giving whoever is sitting there the ability to notice without being noticed. At night this little lane is dead quite - after all, it ends basically ends at the cemetery. The second floor tenant would enter via the main gated entrance and follow the walkway. 

The Key West Writers Compound is "hidden behind the white stucco wall, is a collection of once run-down shacks and shanties, frame cottages perched upon limestone piers, later restored as the winter residences of such literary luminaries as poet Richard Wilbur [former U.S. Poet Laureate], critic John Ciardi, writer Ralph Ellison and Hiroshima author John Hersey. There are several literati compounds in Old Town, and this complex, established in 1976, with its landscaped walkways and a central pool, is one of the most charming. Wilbur won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and is renowned for his translations of Moliere; Ciardi, a critic, also translated Dante’s Divine Comedy; Ralph Ellison wrote The Invisible Man; and John Hersey, taught at Yale for 18 years and won the Pulitzer Prize for his writing debut, A Bell for Adano." (From See KeyWest.com with Sharon Wells)

A.B. Beattie's Key West Dialogue published in the NEW YORK TIMES March 18, 1984 wrote:

"Key West looks like a lurid postcard. The colors are very intense, and almost everywhere you look there is something scenic. I mean, you can go around Key West taking pictures in your head, because almost everything is perfect. You can't miss there. If there's a crack in the sidewalk, there's hibiscus growing in it. If you see an ugly empty lot, there's always the weird juxtaposition - a mansion directly adjoining it. There's really no harmony. If there's harmony there, it's in the air, it's not really in the way things physically relate to each other." 

So much for lurid postcard. The Key West of 36 years ago has faded away. All of the cottages in the compound including Hersey's (visible in pool photo) have been renovated. The bricked walkways lead to each cottage. It's magical. Really magical. You are a five to ten minute walk anywhere in Old Town but in such a private place. Your neighbors will keep an eye out for your place when you go back up north. It's their home as well.

That's 630 Elizabeth Street located at the start of Windsor Lane. All but a a couple of the original old houses on Windsor Lane have been renovated. Most have sold for over one million dollars. 744 Windsor Lane sold in 2020 for $4,700,000. Those readers who are really familiar with Key West know that the still of the night is real as long as you are not near Duval Street. I don't think there is a more perfect location to own a Key West getaway home than in the heart of Old Town. This place works on so many levels. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more listing photos of 713 Windsor Lane, Key West offered for sale at $1,132,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

P.S.  I sold two houses in the Writer's Compound. A year ago or so I had a closing at one of  the law firms. I introduced myself to the lady at the reception desk. She knew who I was, I wrote the blog on the house she bought in the Writer's Compound. She told me she read my blog on the house, called her agent, and went over an bought it. Isn't that special!