526 Grinnell Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed 526 Grinnell Street, which the listing broker describes the property this way:

"Located in one of the most desirable blocks in Old Town Key West...Grinnell Street between Southard and Fleming Streets, this beautifully appointed Conch cottage is perfect in every way. The welcoming front porch, ideal for watching the world go by, opens to the living room with gorgeous wood floors, white shiplap walls and vaulted ceiling with cove lighting. Adjoining the living room is a beautiful high-end kitchen with stainless steel appliances, quartzite countertops, designer tile backsplash and a custom-made walnut topped bar. The chic bathroom is adjacent to the downstairs bedroom. The bedroom opens through French doors to a small private porch. The upstairs has French Oak flooring with an ample sized guest bedroom and enough room for an office area. This is the perfect winter getaway or full time home. Most furnishings convey."

I showed this charming little home several times the last time it was on the market. It is a little doll house. And it sits amid a bunch of other perfect or near perfet homes in a great Old Town location. I wrote about 920 Cornish Lane two weeks ago. It sold in just a couple of days on the market. This one probably will too. 

Talk about street appeal, this home has that. The front porch sits up to provide perfect people viewing perspective of the comings and goings on this street. 5 Brothers is located up at the corner of Southard Street, Azur is located down on the next corner at Fleming Street, and Old Town Bakery is located at the end of that block at Eaton Street. The Historic Seaport and all the shops, entertainment, and restaurants are a couple of minutes further. Ducal Street is an easy five to ten minute walk depending on how long you stop to take a selfie. 

The charm continues when you enter the house. It's a small house but it presents itself very well. Everything is perfect. The ceiling in the living area is vaulted expanding the spatial feel of that space. The kitchen is bright and cheery. And there is space for more than two people to actually prepare meals or cocktails at one time. 

I checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to determine the approximate age of this home. It appears in the 1889 Map when it was identified as 235 Grinnell Street. The street number changed to 526 by the time the 1892 map was published. Cornish Lane is located about 25 feet north of this home The 1889 and 1892 Maps show a swath of empty space identified as Goats Retreat. Remember way back then this island was pretty much self-sustainable. I presume those grazing grounds became guest cottages, pool, and gardens in the years that followed. This property did not expand in lot size. The outdoor space consists of that super attractive front porch and this shelter back area. 

Recent improvements to this house include new roof and new air conditioner. Most of the furniture conveys. This place is in move-in condition.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and numerous listing photos of 526 Grinnell Street offered for sale at $849,000. 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 Key West. Don't wait.

514 Elizabeth Street, Key West - Back on the Market

I have written about this historic Old Town home a few times over the ten years not because it was for sale but to share with my experience in selling this particular house because it was the first house I  sold. 514 Elizabeth Street has been owned by the same people these many years. As I recall there were three factors that influenced their decision to buy this place. First, the house really is historic - it is one of the very oldest homes in Key West. Second, it has a great location equal distance to Duval Street and the Historic Seaport. Third, it had off street parking and a deep back yard with room for a pool. The owners built a pool and created a lovely rear deck and garden.  The perfect location and the charming home remain.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe famously said, "Less is more."  The simplicity of design and original construction make this home a stand out among the many homes in Old Town that have been over-renovated. My research shows the house was built around1855. The photo directly below shows the house in 1965. Below that is a photo I took about eleven years ago. The bottom photo was taken from the second floor of 517 Elizabeth Street in 2013. The current owner told me  that 514 Elizabeth is "is typical of the conch or Bahamian house built in the Bahamas from the 1780s and in Key West prior to the Civil War. The original architectural moldings that survive are typical of the 1835-1860 period."

Mies van der Rohe would love the simple facade. The front porch is meant for sitting. If you open the front door at the right time you may get a view of the pool as is shown in the photo second from the top.  Otherwise, the front door opens into a wide hallway with the formal parlor on the right and the ground floor bedroom on the left. There is a main floor bath at the left rear. The stairway to the second floor bedrooms is located on the right. The original Dade County Pine walls and floors are still intact throughout the house. The only noticeable thing I saw that has changed is the front scuttle no long is visible inside the second floor bedrooms. The house now has central air conditioning and that vitiated the need to use the scuttle for ventilation.

You probably can't tell it from the photos but the wood walls also help us date the house. The wood planks are much wider than typical houses from the 1890s and later. That means the Dade County Pine walls were "old growth lumber" which means earlier construction. The floors and walls have settled a bit with age. Purists who want a genuine old house will appreciate this. People who want something is all perfect will not. I remember staying at the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds many years ago. We stayed in the room that Oliver Cromwell stayed in the night before the Battle of Hastings in 1620. The room tilted a bit. The hotel had a fancy new addition. I preferred historic room with the tilt. And that is why I find this house so utterly charming.

One of the joys of living in Key West is the ability to open the doors in the winter and allow the sunshine and fresh air inside the house. And at night you can leave the doors open and walk back and forth enjoying winter in the tropical environment that is Key West. In this home the inside and outside become one large living space in the daytime and nighttime.

During the daytime the pool is the perfect place to get that Key West tan that will make your friends from the frozen north green with envy.  The decks are perfect entertaining spots at night as well. French doors open from the kitchen and the family room area out to the deck.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 514 Elizabeth Street which is a Pre-Civil War home in Key West offered by Preferred Properties at $1,350,000. Then call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. This is a great location and a precious home in our community.

819 Elizabeth Street, Key West - Magical Old Town Property

Christmas will be coming for some smart buyer who grabs this magical Old Town property before the word gets out that it is now on the market. The listing Realtor describes 819 Elizabeth Street in Key West this way:

"Magical. That’s the only word to describe the welcoming indoor-outdoor living of this 2011 Historic Preservation Award winner at 819 Elizabeth. French doors open from the living areas onto a private, luxuriously landscaped outdoor world with beautiful pool and water feature. Peeking around the corner on the expansive deck is an outdoor dining space, outdoor shower and delightful accessory structure that could easily become a jewel-like guest bedroom or bunks for the grandchildren. Located in the Solares Hill neighborhood, the two-bedroom cottage boasts an upstairs master retreat with half bath. The downstairs bedroom could easily become your favorite office space. From the large, people-watching front porch to the renovated, high-end kitchen with solid cherry cabinets, this home will make you believe in magic again."

 Returning guests to Key West know that having a parking space in Old Town makes just about any property "golden". This home has a wide bricked off street parking space. Elizabeth Street is one-way from Truman Avenue heading north toward Southard Street. The house is easy to find for owner or guests.  The house is located two blocks from Duval Street but far enough away as to be close to  but not apart of all that happens there.

The layout of the house is self-evident. The Living, dining, and kitchen are located on the pool side of the home. Double sets of French doors open out to the pool thereby extending the living space outward for at least half the year.  The rear door off the kitchen leads out to the rear deck and the outdoor shower. 

The guest bedroom is located to the right of the front door. The current owner uses this space as a sitting room.  The full bath is located opposite the kitchen at the rear. If you look at the bathroom mirror you will see the rear yard where the outdoor shower pops into existence next to the bathroom wall.

The master bedroom is located on the second level. Windows on the south and north allow good daytime light to brighten this space. There is storage built into the knee walls on either side of this space.

 I looked into my old shoebox and found a photo of 819 Elizabeth Street taken back in 1965 looking north. It doesn't look the same. Does it?  I then consulted the historic Sanborn Fire Maps and learnt that 819 Elizabeth Street existed as of the 1889 map. That makes the house at least 127 years old. But if you look at it today, the home has all the modern conveniences and a heck of a lot of magic that you just can't buy off the shelf and relocate to just any other property.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos including some night time photos that show the pure magic the listing Realtor described. 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 Key West.