Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No. 41

from January 16, 2014

3529  Sunrise Drive,  Key West, Florida

Matthew Broderick and Tom Cruise were born in 1963.  3529 Sunrise Drive in Key West Florida was built in 1963.  Each will become 51 years old in 2014.  The two movie stars take good care of themselves and probably look better than a lot of people their age.  Men and women who workout and take care of their bodies, skin, and hair normally look better than those who don't.

A lot of my buyers are in their fifties. Many probably grew up in a house built in the 1960s when contemporary design was the trend.  The house at 3529 Sunrise Drive was custom built by the owner who has lovingly maintained this property ever since.  The house is big. The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this house as having 3378 sq ft of interior living space. The house sits on an 8937 sq ft lot (138' X 65') just across the street from the Riviera Canal that ends a few blocks to the east where water flows into the Atlantic Ocean.  The houses across the street benefit from being located on the water.  This house is every bit as nice or nicer than most of the original houses in the area.  And the houses across the street all cost a whole lot more than this house.

The home at 3529 Sunrise Drive incorporates many of the features of large suburban homes built during the early 1960s including multiple living levels, large rooms, vaulted ceilings, and large outdoor living areas. The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Everything you want in Key West living. Plenty of room both inside and out for entertaining or just relaxing with the family. Vaulted ceilings and large rooms make the interior exceedingly livable. A walled lot, lush landscaping, large pool and several covered outside seating areas along with offstreet, covered parking make this an ideal property. This is a home that you can live in tomorrow or add personal touches to create your own island oasis."

Events, styles, trends, fads, they all last for a while but many impact our lives for years or decades into the future. When you are young, you tend to live in the moment. As you get older, you learn that not everything in the world revolves around you. As you get much older, you may learn that what you do or say or think is of no consequence to anybody. That's sort of what happens to styles, trends and fads-they get ignored or displaced or even replaced. Styles that were hip become passe. Maybe that's why for many people buying a house in the Old Town area of Key West is so safe: old is always popular there. Even cherished.

If you are old enough to remember the 1960s you will recall the space race and the New Frontier. You will remember the forward thinking we embraced. Our TV, our culture, our furniture and home goods, and our architecture reflected the hopes and dreams as aspirations of that time. Some homes today still have fallout shelters that were built in the 1960s, a different and sad face of the culture of that time.

The home at 3529 Sunrise Drive incorporates many of the features of large suburban homes built during the early 1960s including multiple living levels, large rooms, vaulted ceilings, and large outdoor living areas. It is time for buyers to consider houses like this that have plenty of good years left as alternatives to much more expensive homes in the Old Town and Casa Marina areas.

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

" Everything you want in Key West living. Plenty of room both inside and out for entertaining or just relaxing with the family. Vaulted ceilings and large rooms make the interior exceedingly livable. A walled lot, lush landscaping, large pool and several covered outside seating areas along with off street, covered parking make this an ideal property. This is a home that you can live in tomorrow or add personal touches to create your own island oasis."

3529 Sunrise Drive is a big house located a on a large lot on the east side of Key West- just about four blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. It is far removed from the hub bub of Old Town. This is a family area and this is a very nice family home that has been well maintained during its lifetime.  CLICK HERE to view a slide show with lots of photos of this home. This property is listed by Preferred Properties, but it is not my listing. It is offered at $899,000. And CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls data sheet.

If you would like to see this blast from the past, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a visit. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.


UPDATE

This truly was one of my favorites house in Key West. I wrote about it many times because it was such a wonderful example of 1960s American architecture. It was listed for sale by several different agents starting in 2004 when the asking price was $1,699,900; It finally sold in 2021 for $1,080.000. I don't know if I mentioned the reason it took so long to sell. The owners had dozens of trophy animals they killed from around the world. They had rugs, mounted heads, and stuffed animals.They killed many of th animals with bow and arrow. I guess that made it "sport"except the animals were defenseless.

If any actually read the post I hope you pick up on how I deal with aging. I had no ireal appreciation for what happens to you as you age. i thought I did. But i was younger then when I wrote it. Count that up to not knowing what you are talking about. 

1007 Watson Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed and just in time for the Holidays, a brand spanking new renovation of an Old Town home located near the places second home owners want to be. 

The listing Realtor describes 1007 Watson Street, Key West thus: 

"This charming Old Town Cottage has undergone a full-scale renovation, is now beautifully appointed, and ready for new Owners. The original historical shotgun design has been maintained but inside you will find all new windows, doors, plumbing, wiring, and cooling system. Watch the world go by on the sweet Front Porch and then step into the delightful open concept floorplan featuring a vaulted ceiling with cove lighting. Gorgeous engineered White Oak flooring, Stainless appliances, Carrera marble countertops, beautiful, undulated Subway tile and Ship-Lap walls all contribute to the cozy Cottage vibe of this perfect home. The Main floor affords a Guest Bedroom with a shared Bath, as well as an inviting Primary Bedroom with Ensuite Bath. Enjoy working from home or entertaining friends in the cheerful spacious Loft space, complete with Closet and Built-Ins. The Rear Porch is just the right spot for morning coffee and starting your day in Paradise. Located in the X Flood Zone and a great Old Town walkable and bikeable Neighborhood."

Let''s take a look. Follow me as I enter the front door.

The outside is crisp and clean. I entered the house and was struck by how white and bright everything appeared. The new oak floor had a white wash look to it so it. I noticed black accents in multiple directions as well as the muted tones of the brushed nickle cabinet pulls. It all flowed together. I liked!

I remember standing near the fancy sink surveying the kitchen and dining area. Then I went down the hall looking for the living room. Thee were two bedrooms and two baths. I went back up front and looked up to what I thought would be a bedroom. I was wrong. It was the loft living area that opens down to the kitchen area. I walked up stairs and found this bid open space with octagon windows on the east and west sides and a skylight in between. The wood floor transitioned into a cushy white wall-to-wall carpet. The arrangement  would not work for everybody, but it will work for the right person. This is style. Furnishings may be purchased separately.

The renovator did a really good job of creating a house different from everybody else. The guest bath is located by the stairs going to the loft living area. But it also opens into the guest bedroom in the first photo above. So the bath seems privet most of the time. The primary bedroom is in the rear. It has a door that opens to the rear deck. Both bedrooms have skylights which bring additional light inside beyond the windows and door. The master bath pictured above also has a window and skylight. I never saw a glass wall panel as interesting as this. Look carefully there is a recess for stealing kisses at the rear left. 

The wood decks appear to be Ipe and crate a sophisticated area for enjoying the outdoors. A gate on the south side opens to an easement which leads back to Watson Street. I stood there and remembered what is/was on the other side of the fence. I wrote about that space in February 2017.

 

"New to the Key West real estate market is 1009 Watson Street. I wrote about  this hidden gem a few years ago. It is so hidden that I cannot find the original blog. I remember the first time I saw this house several years ago. It is located down a narrow walking lane that is sandwiched between to old houses which front onto Watson Street. The house emerged at the rear as it does today but then I took in the true majesty of the location. The yard is huge by Key West standards and especially huge for being located behind two nice but non-assuming houses. I searched in my old shoebox and found a photo of the front houses and the walkway of fifty plus years ago."

See. I told you!

At the beginning of today''s blog I mentioned 1007 Watson Street is located near where second home owners want to be. The house is located about two hundred feet south of Truman Avenue. The photo above shows that location in 1890. That is the OH NO LAUNDRY in the foreground. The empty lot across the street eventually became a Key West landmark in its own right. Today it is called Bare Assets. Duval Street if five blocks to the west. White Street four to the east. The ocean is a ten minute walk to the south. The seaport is ten minutes north.

The house first appeared in the 1892 Sanborn Fire Map as 107 Watson Street. The street number was changed to 1007 Watson on the 1899 map. I found a photo of the house in my old shoebox. It looks nothing like it did even fifty plus years ago. Neither do the houses on either side.

 

 NEW PRICE  CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 1007 Watson Street, Key West Fl offered for sale at $1,175,000. Then please text me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a private showing of this charming new old home. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

 

 

401 South Street, Key West - Landmark Property For Sale

"Through the crystal-clear air Lori could hear the ringing of the agent's bell...that had begun when the package had first been sighted, carefully picking it's way past the outer reefs toward the lighthouse at Whitehead's Point."          - Thelma Strabel, Reap the Wild Wind

Preferred Properties Key West just listed 401 South Street, Key West. This home sits opposite what was once called Whitehead's Point. Tourists from all over the world come here to take photos as a remembrance of the best vacation of their lives. Were you to buy this one-of-a-kind home I would suggest that you must really like people because people will stand across the street from your home every day to take photos of themselves for as long as you own the property.

But at night when the tourists have moved down to Mallory Square to view the amazing Key West sunset, you will have the view of the old Whitehead's Point to yourself.  You can watch the nightly sunset from your main level or second floor balcony with a view nobody in Key West can ever have. The balmy breezes from the Atlantic Ocean will brush the palms that flank this corner property.  At night after the tourists are gone you will hear the sound of tiny waves as they lap the coral rock where South Street and Whitehead Street meet at the place now called the Southernmost Point. This is the yin and yang of this property.  

The original house is constructed of Indian Block, a man-made material similar to modern concrete block except that Indian Block has a finished decorative carved-rock aspect. Over the years the original front porch and second floor balcony were modernized as is shown in the 1965 black and white photo.   What you may not see unless you look at all the photos with care is that 401 South Street has three bays: The front bay is obscured by the enclosed front porch. The east side bay is not visible from the street whereas the west bay is quite prominent as it can be viewed by all.

The immediately above photo shows the front bay on the main floor. The house plus the rear bungalow have been divided into three legal living units. The first floor and second floor currently used as separate apartments and are pretty much carbon copies of each other as to interior layout. The original interior staircase has been removed, but a portion of the stairs still remains. Re-installation of a staircase would be fairly simple were a new owner want to restore this home back to a single family residence.  Note the extra large crown molding that wraps the front bay. The crown molding can be found in all first floor rooms. I did not take a tape measure with me when I photographed this house. My guess is that the ceiling height on the main floor is at least ten feet tall.

The above photo was taken in the dining room on the first floor. The west bay window is seen on the extreme left. The front porch is enclosed with screen. Even the screen can't diminish the view of the ocean.

The west second floor bay shows the superior condition of the Indian block construction. The next photo shows some of the original detailed stone work that is still in excellent condition. It would be interesting to see how a current day architect might reinterpret the original porches to restore some of the historic appeal of the house while retaining privacy for a new owner.

The views from the second floor deck are pretty impressive.  Imagine sipping your morning coffee from the second floor balcony before the tourists arrive.

A simple bungalow is located at the back far east side of the lot. This space is a basic Old Florida bungalow with grassy yard, palm trees, and louvers that keep the sun and rain out but that allow air and sunlight in.  Ralph Lauren would have a field day decorating this little gem. The bungalow would make the perfect guest cottage. There is plenty of room for a pool and still retain off street parking for two cars.

The main house and bungalow total 2845 sq ft of interior living space. The lot is 76' wide and 100' deep. There is room to expand the main house and bungalow. I took more photos and share historic photos I found which you may view if you CLICK HERE. 401 South Street is offered for sale by Preferred Properties Key West at $3,100,000.

CLICK HERE to view the mls datasheet on this Key West Treasure. Better than looking at photos or reading a blog, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to arrange a private showing of this special home. Today's blog is an update of one I wrote in 2014 when this house was for sale then. The current owner updated the house after that purchase. But it still remains three units. It deserves more. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.