618 Free School Lane, Key West - Old Town

Key West is as much a state of mind as it is a state of grace.  First time visitors either love it or leave it. Many of those who love it dream of moving here someday, perhaps retiring here. Some of the left over hippies and gays who moved here in the 1970's and 1980's and started businesses or invested in real estate have prospered beyond their wildest dreams. Others have achieved personal fulfillment simply by living on this little island out in the middle of the ocean where pace, not race, is the way lives are lived. I'm not sure if the manana attitude is caused by the year around warmth or the realization that just about anything can wait for another day - or thirty. 

I first came to Key West in March 1984 and fell in love with the architecture and the potential of this quaint and laid back little town. What once was is no longer. Town has changed. Block by block, house by house, the once seemingly neglected cottages and houses have been restored and made into the best version of themselves. The rusted old Conch Cruisers have been replaced by fancy imports from foreign lands. Small cigar maker cottages that once sold for a $100,000 now sell for around one million dollars.

The Sears School (as photographed circa 1890) was located at the end of Free School Lane.  The school was built in 1874 and was Key West's first school. It was torn down in 1909 when it was replaced by the Harris School on Southard Street. Locals and returning visitors will recognize the location as being the former entrance to Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden.

I made my pilgrimage to see the secret garden three decades ago. I was taken by the natural beauty and the sheer size of the garden with specimen palms and other tropical foliage. 

I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Map for 1889 and found the Sears School and what I believe to be the original cottage at 618 Free School Lane. I added notations to the map for readers to view. Free School Lane is not identified by name on the map, but that is the location. What you can see is an immense open space around the red check.  That space later became known as Nancy's Secret Garden and now is the beautiful home at 618 Free School Lane, Key West now offered for sale at $5,497,900.

I must admit I was worried about what might have happened to the once "natural" garden. That concern vanquished as soon as I passed through the gate. The gardens are now very formal and meticulously maintained. Gray stone walkways lead to various points in the garden and the sunken heated pool with swim-up cocktail tables and built-in seating.

 The entry sets the tone for the entire residence. The room measures 14 feet long, 14 feet wide, by 14 feet tall. The walls throughout most of the house are crisp white offset by tile floors suggestive of historic Cuba tile patterns with tones of black, to gray, and white.  Dramatic light fixtures and medallions can be found in many rooms including the adjacent kitchen and dining room.

Multiple glass panel doors open out to the deck area which really looks down to the sunken pool and which wraps around the house where the master suite wing is located.

This home has three bedrooms, three and one-half bathrooms, an outdoor shower, and pizazz for days. The attention to detail is evident throughout the home. There is too much to explain so I won't bore readers with the details. Instead, CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos for 618 Free School Lane. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

Free School Lane as photographed during Fantasy Fest in 2011. All that Old Town has to offer is located about two hundred feet west of the very private home located at 618 Free School Lane.

1119 Olivia Street, Key West

Prospective buyers of a home in Key West ought to be able to tell a lot about the listing at 1119 Olivia Street just by looking at the three above photos. The most obvious visible fact is the home is located on a corner and has two off-street parking spaces, two mail boxes, and appears to be in pristine condition. I wrote a blog about this property in 2008 soon after it had then been totally renovated. It looks just as sharp and clean now.

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Immaculate, completely renovated home in Historic Old Town Key West. Lovely corner lot on quiet street, 2 valuable Boston Brick Off street parking spaces, 3 bedrooms 2.5 baths, 12'x16' private covered porch with yard and possible room for plunge pool, 2nd covered front porch, X zone (no flood insurance required). New washer/dryer, new microwave, dishwasher, disposal, central AC, new metal roof, Florida tile throughout, designer lighting package , 7 ceiling fans and white picket fence surrounds the property. Can use the upstairs for a legal Studio rental. The Studio is separately metered and has a private entrance plus $2000/month income potential. A must see in a wonderful LOCATION! LOCATION!"

This home is laid out with the two main floor bedrooms and baths at the front of the house. The living area, kitchen, and dining area are at the rear. French doors open out to the east side covered deck. The wood door at the rear of the kitchen opens out to the bricked parking space entered off Ashe Street.

There is a legal second floor apartment. The entrance is located on the Ashe Street side of the house. See the check mark on the photo below which shows the entrance. The entire second floor is a lovely studio apartment that rents at $2,000 per month. That's affordable rent in Key West. That rent makes the main floor space an attractive buying opportunity for a buyer who wants a place to call his/her/their own in Key West and still have income potential to off sett some of the cost of home ownership.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos for 1119 Olivia Street, Key West. 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. This is really worth looking at.

97 Bay Drive, Saddlebunch Key, Florida

If you are among the idled government workers, contractors, or just the idle rich, you may be stuck in some snowbound abode or at least in some gray forsaken city where it's cold and gray. Today as I write this blog it is a sunny 74 degrees in Key West and Saddlebunch Key where I just viewed 97 Bay Drive. The listing Realtor invited me up to take a look and asked me to blog about this new listing.

Saddlebunch Key is an island located about fifteen minute drive from Key West. This home is located near the end of Bay Drive which is a peninsula on the island. I counted about 236 homes using a Google aerial view. Frequent Keys visitors will recognize Baby's Coffee as the nearby landmark. There is a nearby park behind Baby's Coffee with tennis court, volleyball area, and children's playground and picnic tables. This is a water-oriented island community located near Key West. There are several gas and convenience stores as well as restaurants and bars between Saddlebunch and Key West. But it remains a place where you make plans for the day or week ahead before you go grocery shopping. The big nightlife remains in Key West, but few places in Key West offer an owner to go out to the water and use a tickle stick to grab dinner.

This 2392 square foot water front home was built in 1995 and sits on an 8625 square foot lot. All of the main living areas except one guest bedroom face the water each of which have great to spectacular water views. The home is contemporary in design and should appeal to folks who love both bold and beautiful spaces as well as tiny nooks.

I was genuinely awed by the two story open atrium like room with provides great wall space for hanging art as well as adding a lot of drama to the interior. The kitchen and dining area are on this level as are a butler's pantry and a guest bath (both on the rear side. The cook will never feel alone or deprived in this home which as propane gas cook-top, an outdoor grill on a separate rear balcony, and water views in multiple areas. One guest bedroom faces the water and the other faces the back side of the bay. Each bedroom has a small balcony extending out over the house. Nobody is closed-in inside this home.

The master bedroom takes up the entire third level of the home. There is a sweet little sun filled nook  side which would be the perfect place to read a good book. Or you might venture out to the private deck to get a natural tan.

There are covered outdoor seating and dining areas on the main living level and pool level.  This home would be perfect for the couple who love to entertain. The entire lot is fully landscaped with native  vegetation and is also lighted in the evening. The vegetation extends out beyond the pool and provides a buffer from public view from passing watercraft. And even though there is one house nearby, the pool view master bedroom terrace are out of view. Unlike many of the homes on Bay Drive, this home has no neighbor across a canal or body of water. This is private living. And sunny skies. And really clean air. And a tickle stick!

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 97 Bay Drive, Saddlebunch Key Florida offered for sale at $1,375,000. 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. I'm gonna ask you to sit in that chair, feel the sun on your face, and imagine what your life would be like if you were to live here. If you really like the place we will go back at night, hopefully on a big moon night, where we can watch the moon shine down on the vast body of water. There is nothing like a warm Florida evening with the moon lighting the water.

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