912 Fleming Street, Key West = Price Reduction

The asking price on 912 Fleming Street, Key West, is now $2,250,000. The historic house dates back to the later 1890s and has been updated and expanded. It now has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. There is a 750 SF legal apartment in the front that the owners do not rent but instead store their children's toys and bikes. This space could be renovated into a large main floor master bath by a new owner.

The house sits at the front of the 5,650 SF Lot which extends 115 Feet from the street. The view from the inside looking out to the pool awes just about every single person who sees it for the first time.That's because the house next door is a huge estate with gigantic grounds giving 912 Fleming a sunny and totally private skyline.

The updated kitchen includes a breakfast bar, dining area, large pantry, wine cooler, and lots of cabinets. Glass sliding doors in the living room and kitchen open out to the 30 covered porch that looks out to the gardens and pool.

The master suite is in a newer addition to the house. It includes the bedroom, bath, plus good sized walk-in closet. The vaulted ceiling gives the space a bit a dramatic flair. There are two other bedroom which share a bath.

The current owners converted a former second floor apartment into additional family guest space that now includes a living room, two bedrooms, mini-kitchen, and bathroom. Doors open out to the front covered balcony giving guests a grand view of the homes on Key West's Millionaires Row.  CLICK HERE to view more photos.

912 Fleming Street has two valuable off street parking spaces including a covered space - that is a rarity on Old Town. CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. to schedule a showing.  I received a phone yesterday afternoon from a gent who saw the house during an open house shortly after I change the listing price.  I think the new price will loosen up the wallets of many potential buyers who are waiting to buy. This house is poised to sell.

744 Windsor Lane, Key West

A hidden tropical paradise awaits behind the hand-carved Indonesian teak doors of 744 Windsor Lane. This extraordinary property presents an unassuming visage to the world: it looks like two classic Key West cottages joined together, and so it is. But once inside, prepare to be amazed. Behind the teak doors lies a secret interior courtyard with ponds and waterfalls and a multitude of exquisite plants. Gently rising blond stone steps lift above the water to a second grand entrance, and a second surprise: a home of enormous open spaces, clean modernist lines, and walls of windows overlooking a quarter-acre of manicured tropical splendor. An enormous lanai, an outdoor kitchen, and a cabana bath accompany one of the largest pools in Key West in this private oasis known to just a few. An ideal home for entertaining, this 6 bedroom, 7 bath modernist masterpiece can graciously host family holiday gatherings, elegant cocktail parties, or even a fundraising gala with scores of guests. A truly unique property in the heart of Old Town, fully updated and offered in superb condition at $5.75 million. 

The two black & white photos above show 744 and 748 Windsor Lane, Key West, as they appeared in 1965.  A couple of decades later restaurateurs Phillip and Antonia (the creators of Antonia's Restaurant on Duval Street) joined the two houses together to create one large home with extensive gardens. The current owners recently completed a total restoration of the property. Craig Reynolds, Key West's premier landscape architect, designed the new gardens and Mark Harris supervised the installation. The buildings were updated and revamped including the installation of new formal living room, new west wing master bath, new whole house generator, new impact windows and doors except the historic facade, new decking, interior and exterior painting by Nippers, new lighting, and so on.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos for 744 Windsor Lane, Key West, Florida.  Please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. I share this listing with Cory Held and Jeffrey Grosky. (Qualified buyers only.) I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

317 Angela Street, Key West - A New House in Old Town

Just listed, but not by me, 317 Angela Street, Key West. This is a brand new stick built house located in the Historic District. Locals and frequent visitors to Key West know that our old houses are protected and may not be torn down to build new houses. The explanation as to how this house came to be built is simple - the prior house (see the black and white photo below taken in 1965) was torn down in 2008 when the structure was declared "unsafe" by the city. The lot sat vacant for several years and was eventually purchased by the current owner in 2015.  The new house is an homage to what used to be on the corner of Mickens Lane and Angela Street. The new structure looks like many of the historic homes which expanded over the years with new buildings added to the rear or second floor additions over earlier one-story houses. This house has each of these elements.

The above series of photos show the original house, the vacant lot, the house framed in, and the newly 2622 square foot five bedroom five baths plus two additional half baths home. The lot measures 42' wide along Angela Street and runs 100.5' deep along Mickens Lane. The owners worked around the old trees on the front and side. Though new, this house comfortably into the lot's  location and looks like it has sat there for decades.

Long time readers of my blog know a recurring theme I write about upon entering new homes for the first time. My eyes are trained to look through whatever is going on inside and seek the rear view. Was I ever amazed in this place. Wow! Who would have thought what looks to be an assemblage of historic additions would have a great room of dramatic proportion? Then I saw something I had not seen in Key West before - a ceiling suspended in air where two right angles met exposing the pool and outdoor dining area. The chef's kitchen was to my right. Though stylish in every aspect, it warranted only a moment's notice as I walked out to the terrace to look up and see how this assemblage of things worked and kept from crashing down. This was genius.

There are two bedrooms on the first floor located on either side of the central hallway. Each has a private bath as do each of the three upstairs bedrooms. Because of this location just one and one-half blocks from Duval Street and a hop-stick-and-a-jump from Ft Zachary Taylor State Beach and Park, I think this house was designed with monthly vacation rental in mind to house large family groups. I toured the second floor bedrooms with a fellow agent who I several inches taller than I at which time I remarked that tall men could actually live in a house like this.  So many of the actual historic homes in Old Town have small bedrooms and low ceilings and result in a lot of make-do efforts to squeeze in make a big man squish a bit to fit inside a diminutive house. That's not going to be necessary at this house where the rooms are large and tall to accommodate all.

The first floor front bedrooms shows the design elements carried forth in the others upstairs. A faux old wall is in every room and contrasts to the bright white walls and ceiling with tie-collars that accentuate the height and add to the drama of the space. Each bedroom has an en-suite and closet, a feature not found in a lot of actual conch cottages. You won't notice it until you actually go to this house, but the design wizards at city hall like to pinch for accuracy as much as possible so they made the builder maintain the floor level height of the original house but allows the builder to step down one step to the main living level. This adds to the sense of the houses having been built or added onto in phases.

The master suite is remarkable for many reasons beyond its size. There is, of course, the large master bath and double door walk-in closet with a lot of built in storage.  This room in particular looks like a gathering place of young siblings while being with the parents on extended vacations. Or perhaps a place for nanny to govern while the parents are away. The suite shuts off from the rest of the rest if the house to give the parents ultimate solace when required.

In real life the friends and family will spend most time in the living areas - indoor and outdoor.  Those big glass walls will inevitably disappear into the walls as the occupants use this well designed space for the purposes intended. There is necessary shade, there a spaces to sun, there is space to frolic in the pool, and there is a place to tinkle near but not in the pool.

If you are not familiar with this location, you are probably well aware of The Green Parrot which is located one half block west and one half block north. The new Truman Waterfront Park and Amphitheater is located three blocks west of the Green Parrot. Ft Zach Taylor Beach is a short stroll away. Duval Street is one block east of 317 Angela where you can walk to the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico in about 30 minutes in either direction. You'll probably never make, however, because there is always something exciting go on Duval Street.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 317 Angela Street offered for sale at $2.300,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this newly built home. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.