2 Fletchers Lane Key West ~ One of the Slowest Lanes in Key West

You won't likely find a slower lane in Old Town Key West than Fletchers Lane. The lane is only one block long and dead ends to one of three houses at the end. Fletchers Lane is sandwiched  between Grinnell Street to the east and Margaret Street to the west. The entrance is just off Eaton Street. The lane is populated by only a few houses. Most people have never heard of it because few houses located there ever get offered for sale. 2 Fletchers Lane (not my listing) is your opportunity to purchase a really special property that I consider to be a really good value.

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Wonderful, turn-key, 2 story Old Town home with beautiful Brazilian cherry floors, custom kitchen cabinets & Dade County pine walls. Obviously built by a ship builder, you can feel the custom woodwork quality throughout. Each bedroom enjoys lots of privacy with a split floor plan plus a guest cottage. Totaling 3 bedrooms & 3.5 baths with a great room that opens completely to the outdoors. Tropical landscaping and new Trex decking surround the heated pool & spa. The third bedroom cottage can double as guest quarters or a bar entertaining area with accordion style windows that open it up completely. Fully fenced for privacy & located between Grinnell & Margaret Streets, you can walk to everything from this unique property."

 The good thing about owning a house on a lane that hardly anybody even knows that it exists is that you probably will not have many drop in guests, Fuller Brush salesmen, or other ne'er do-wells knocking on your door. You probably won't be serenaded after the bars close when locals and tourists find their way back to their homes, apartments, guest houses, or hotels. You'll miss out on lines like "Babe I love you!" or "I hate you! Get out of my life!".

As frequent readers know the Key West mls is auto-filled with data that comes from the Monroe County Property Appraiser database. Unfortunately, the historic property records were destroyed in the great fire many years ago. Members of the WPA recreated (with an emphasis on the word created) those records were approximations of when many of our old homes were built - including the home at 2 Fletchers Lane which the official record says was built in 1924.  I looked at the Sanborn Fire Maps for Key West and found what I believe to be this property which I have marked with an "X" on the map below. That map was made in 1890. It shows the house and rear cottage existed prior to 1899. You will note that the house appears to be placed on an angle.  That was not uncommon in olden days. Some houses were not placed at perfect right angles to the lot or the lot.  Some houses are still sit like that. This house has been re-situated so that it now sits parallel with the lane.

I dug into the old shoebox and found a photo of 2 Fletchers Lane taken back in 1965. Compare that with the photo which I recently took..

The black and white photo shows 'scuttles' located on the roof. Scuttles are vents used in historic construction that allowed warm air to vent out through the roof..  The first house I sold in Key West was built around 1824. It had scuttles. I will never forget that house because of its simple but beautiful construction. Note also that the front porch still functions as such, but the main entrance has been relocated just past the gated side entrance which is barely visible in the above photo. The photo below shows the gated entry and the entry to the home.

The main living area is located near the rear of the home.  The kitchen, dining, and living areas form one great room which has sets of French doors on two sides that provide ample daytime light that is filtered by the palms and tropical foliage on this and nearby properties.  The Brazilian cherry floors, the extensive wood trim, and the custom cabinets in the kitchen make the main floor living space extra cozy and comfortable.

The ceiling in the living room soars two stories high.  Your guests will be amazed to see a second floor glass walkway that extends from the master bedroom area to second floor rear balcony that overlooks the pool and guest cottage to the rear. This is an ingenious mix of old school charm with contemporary design.   

There are two bedrooms on the second floor. The master suite is located at the rear of the house. The space is evenly divided between sleeping area, sitting area, dressing room, bath and that incredible glass walkway and rear balcony.   

What must have been the original living room when this home was first built is now used as an office. A full bath is located to the rear of the office. A second stairway provides access to the second floor front bedroom.

The front porch is still a fine place for sitting and watching - pretty much of nothing. Only a few other homes share this tiny little lane. There is no off street parking here. You can drive your car up the lane to unload groceries and things. But you will need to park on nearby Eaton or Grinnell Street. The listing Realtor tells me the owners have parked in the same spot on Eaton Street for as long as they have owned this house.

I don't know if the guest cottage is the same cottage shown on the old Sanborn map or if it was built new. But I know its current configuration is pure genius. I have never seen any structure like this in Key West. You enter the cottage by stepping down a step from the pool deck level into this exquisite space. The cottage almost feels like a cabin in the woods except it is located in Key West, Florida! Windows on two sides open out from the bar to the pool where you and your guests can lounge in luxury. Please CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this home that is offered for sale at $926,000 or $494 per sq ft. If you want a slice of Old Key West that has been updated and tweaked just ever so nicely, this may be the place you have been looking for.


CLICK HERE to view more photos which I took of this really charming Key West property. But better than that, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This is a truly incredible home. Don't miss this. 

4 Pinder Lane - Major Price Reduction - Key West

This Key West property is a singular sensation because of its unique history, architecture, location, and usage. The original home was built in 1859 and was updated and expanded with contemporary additions in the 1970s. It has a rich and colorful history that is as eclectic as the guests who have wined and dined in this home which for decades was the center of the Key West glitterati universe. Today the estate sized property is available at a new low price of only $1,975,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to view more listing photos.

4 Pinder Lane as it appeared in 1965

 I first saw this property about five years ago when it was listed (together with an adjacent cottage that has since been sold) at the then asking price of $4.5 million. My buyers were so taken by this property that they required a second visit that evening to see how home looks in the nighttime.  "Wow!" would be an appropriate description.  This property is simply unforgettable and very romantic in the evening!

If you have been following the Key West real estate market regularly, you must have noticed that many Old Town houses are referred to as 'quintessential Key West cottages'. 4 Pinder Lane isn't one of those. It is the opposite. The house is a blend of a really old historic Key West home which has been updated with mid-20th Century additions. The house is both sophisticated and grand, but it still has small intimate spaces for normal living. The house has 2657 sq ft of living space situated on an irregular 9887 sq ft lot located at the end of a lane surrounded by some very pricey homes.

The house as presently configured has two bedrooms. Both bedrooms are located on the second floor of the older portion of the house. They share one bath and an adjacent (huge) walk-in closet.  There is room, however, to add a guest cottage at the rear where you could construct a third guest bedroom and bath.  The master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and two Romeo and Juliet balconies. One balcony looks down onto 1970's living room to the north.  The other balcony looks down to the new kitchen addition to the east.

View from Romeo and Juliet balcony off master bedroom

Note the seamless transition between living area to the pool and deck area

The main living area has an 18' vaulted ceiling with a glass wall of windows and doors that frame the entire room and that look out to the very large pool and gardens. The design is so comfortable and informal that you immediately feel welcome in this wonderful living space. The brick floors of the living room make a seamless transition to the pool area which also has brick pavers. It is as if the outdoors is part of the indoors - only the outdoors 'ceiling' is boundless. The grounds are totally (but subtly) lit at night.  I remember the nighttime showing from several years ago when the pool area and gardens at night just screamed to host a really swank cocktail party with a hundred of one's closest friends.  That's exactly what happened in days of yore.

Garden extends 15 feet beyond the lengthy pool

Add a second story above Pool bath house to create new guest bedroom

The kitchen and dining area are in a separate wing of the house which also has a separate vaulted ceiling. In most houses the kitchen is the 'gathering' where family and friends talk (and drink) while the chef cooks. This kitchen is extra large and designed for entertaining. Multiple sets of French doors open out to a rear garden area. CLICK HERE to view a slide show of photos of the house and grounds. There is an existing cottage at the rear of this garden which could be the site of a new guest cottage.

Kitchen was designed for entertaining

Rear deck overlooks the bricked courtyard on the east side of the property

Both the living room and kitchen have what I call Romeo and Juliet balconies that look down from the second floor core of the house where the two bedrooms are located. I can just see a Jules or Juliet up in the bedrooms running from balcony to balcony calling out to Romeo, Rome, wherefore art thou, Rome? amid all the people below attending some big gala.

The listing Realtor describes 4 Pinder Lane like this way:

"Just Reduced! Priced To Sell! On one of Old Town's biggest lots, just under 1/4 acre, luxuriously renovated & expanded, this home on the Nat'l Registry of Historic Places is a sweeping sophisticated sanctuary ideal for entertaining. A living rm w/18ft ceiling & fireplace opens through a wall of windows to lush gardens & huge pool w/cabana bar, poolside bath/dressing rm. In addition to a gracious dining rm, an enormous eat-in chef's kitchen wrapped in 18ft ceiling w/windows & French doors. There are 2 Bosch ovens & dishwashers, Subzero fridge, 2 sinks & ice maker. Upstairs the master suite w/dressing rm + sitting rm/ & orig. 3rd bedroom opens to a roof-top sundeck. 2 car parking, lg storage cottage w/ample room to add guest house."

The phrase "Sensational Old Key West history at its best!" refers to the legendary writers, artists, actors, and Key Westers that frequented this one-of-a-kind property over the years. Sharon Well's author of "See Key West" wrote that the owner of 4 Pinder Lane "introduced Tallulah Bankhead to the island. Clad in flowery pedal-pushers, she could sometimes be seen at Fausto’s Food Palace." Cary Grant, Leonard Bernstein, Burt Reynolds, Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach,Tony Curtis, Roy Schieder, Peter Allen and authors Tennessee William, James Kirkwood, James Leo Herlihy, and Evan Rhodes are among the many others who were guests at this home.

Pinder Lane is another slow lane in Key West located in the 500 block of William Street. It dead ends about 250 feet east of William Street where the lane ends at 4 Pinder Lane. Two other homes are located on Pinder Lane as well as a very fancy guest cottage which recently became an extension of the main house located on William Street. An abutting neighbor on Southard Street purchased a vacant lot on Pinder Lane to create off street parking.  If you buy 4 Pinder Lane you will have some mighty fine neighbors.

4 Pinder Lane is now listed, but not by me, at the reduced asking price of $1,975,000.  Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this singular sensation.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.

Bank Owned Estate Property - 1309 Villa Mill Alley - Key West - Price Reduction

If you have been looking for a Bank Owned property in Key West with lots of upside potential, the just reduced asking price on 1309 Villa Mill Alley is something to cheer about.  I can't say enough good things about this property. The listing Realtor does a good job, however, by stating:

"Gated entry to this large 3529 sq ft home located in famous Old Town Key West on an alley only 2 blocks from the beach and Duval street. 5BR/4BTh. Master suite down with marble bath. Large spacious kitchen, a real dining room, office/craft room, outside storage room, and a super large living room that may be turned into an office (has separate entrance). There are decks upstairs, downstairs and on sides. Lush, mature, tropical landscaping and fence make this a very private home. As you enter through the gate the view of the free form pool and spa framed by the lovely landscaping is spectacular. French doors from kitchen open onto this stone patio for a cozy pool-side lunch or dinner. Off Street, bricked parking for two cars."

1309 Villa Mill Alley is located just south of United Street and east of Simonton Street. The "alley" dead ends about 300 feet or so. The other homes on the "alley" have all been updated and are among the more expensive homes in the Old Town area. The house at 707 South Street sits opposite to the entrance to Villa Mill Alley. 707 South Street was a featured scene in the James Bond movie "License to Kill". All of the houses on Villa Mill Alley are estate type properties meaning large homes, large lots, and higher than average price tags.  All have dense tropical foliage that protect and insulate the properties from public view.

The subject property has bricked off street parking for at least two cars. The living room of the house is located in an old cottage at front. The rest of rest of the house which is actually two two story houses united by a two story staircase and lobby is new construction built in 1995. New windows and decks were added in 2006.

Original house is now the living room

Living room

Like other homes on Villa Mill Alley, this property has a gated entry that opens into a courtyard. The pool and spa are located here as well. Doors from the kitchen, the master suite, and the two story staircase and lobby all open out to the courtyard.

This house has lots of space for sophisticated living and real rooms. (Some places in Old Town have cramped attic bedrooms and limited closets. Not this home. And this house has traditional rooms with identifiable purposes. I say that because so many houses today have great rooms that serve multiple purposes. That is fine and works very well in many instances. But there is something ever so nice about a home that has traditional rooms like this property. French doors open from the courtyard into the large kitchen with vaulted ceiling. This kitchen is huge and has room for seating around the island for informal dining. The formal dining room (not seen in most new construction) is located adjacent (first and third photos below). The living room is located to the front (second photo below). 

The kitchen is located in a new addition to the back of the original house on the lane. The dining area and office/study (located adjacent to the rear) are on the ground floor or the south two story new houses that are joined together by the two story staircase and lobby. Sound confusing I know.

The master bedroom with en-suite bath is located on the ground floor on the north side of the home. The bedroom has sets of French doors that open out to the cool pool and spa for a refreshing late night dip. The bedroom has a cedar lined closet. The bath is extra large and features a steam room. There is a rear entrance that leads to an outdoor shower - a must in every Key West home.

The second floor is dedicated to sleeping in both north and south wings. The north wing has a second master suite (with en-suite bath) that is laid out differently but which has a deck that overlooks the pool below. The south wing has two smaller bedrooms that share bath.There is even a second floor sundeck for some private al fresco sunning.

1309 Villa Mill Alley has 3529 sq ft of living space distributed among the several buildings that are all connected. The house sits on a large 6656 sq ft lot hidden from public view.  This bank owned home was initially offered at $1,595,000 but has been reduced to just $1,349,900 or $383 per sq ft. If you are a serious buyer you will know that the price per sq ft is considerably lower than similarly sized important homes in the Old Town area. This property has previously been successfully rented as a monthly vacation rental. It has superior amenities and a great location near South Beach and upper Duval Street. It provides easy access to many Old Town locations within a few minutes by foot or bike. This place is definitely worth looking at.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos. I took more photos which can be seen if you CLICK HERE.  I added the floor plan below so you can get a feel for the layout.

If you would like to see this great bank owned property, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.