723 Catherine Street, Key West - Just Sold

Just SOLD, but not by me, 723 Catherine Street, Key West. I wrote about this property a couple of times over the past few years and showed it to several prospective buyers. Let me share a bit of what I previously wrote.

723 Catherine Street in 1965

From a bottling plant to a contemporary gem, this former cola bottling plant was converted in 1995 into a spacious, open, modern home and is a recipient of the prestigious Ceramic Star for Architectural Preservation Excellence. Lush gardens surround a beautiful pool with a waterfall, an outdoor shower and a large poolside loggia that is great for dining and entertaining. High privacy walls insure peace and quiet. There are three large bedrooms and two and a half baths equipped with elegant modern fixtures. Inside the ceilings soar in the first floor living areas. The gourmet kitchen opens over a breakfast bar to the great room. This property is in the low-flood-hazard x zone.

 This home has 2356 sq ft of living space and sits on a 3939 sq ft lot. The property definitely has a New York loft type of feel to me. The building is concrete and the floors are decorative concrete. Even though the walls and floors and glass are hard surfaces, the house does not give off what I'll call hard vibes. The simple lines, warm colors, high ceilings, and spacious rooms make this home inviting, not harsh. The open courtyards and pool off the living areas remind you right away that you are not on the Isle of Manhattan but the Island of Key West instead.

I dug down into my old shoebox and found the black and white aerial photo taken of St Mary's Star  of the Sea church and convent in the 1950s. The convent burned down a few years later. I added a check to mark the location of 723 Catherine Street.  If you are familiar with this part of town you will appreciate all of the new construction and historic preservation that has taken place over the past six decades. One of the challenges in selling this property was its location across the street from the Suburban Propane tank farm. It's time for that thing to be relocated to another island. It has had a negative influence on many other sales over the years. The thing that changed the dynamics was the acquisition of a transient rental license. The owner had successfully rented the property as a monthly vacation rental. But a transient license makes that property (and any other property in close proximity of Duval Street) a money making prospect.

The property was sold in 1994 for $132,500. The recent owner/seller purchased it in 1998 for $490,000. It CLOSED yesterday for $1,842,500.  I am not good at math and I know someone who is will correct me. But I think that is a 386.2% gain or an annual gain of 18.3%.  Plus the owner/seller had the use and or income of the property for the past 21 years. It kind of beats owing a CD. CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on this property. Congrats to the listing and selling agents.

620 Eaton Street - Old Town - Key West

Congrats are in order to Everett Watkins listing agent at Preferred Properties and to Phil and Terri Wilson (selling agents) at Preferred Properties on the sale of one of Key West's most prominent and historic homes, 620 Eaton Street which SOLD (closed) on December 7th for $3,199,000.  CLICK HERE for more info on this home.

This is a grand and gracious home that has dominated Eaton Street for decades.  The most recent owners did a splendid job in upgrading and maintaining one of Key West's most treasured homes. Below are some photos of the house through
the years.

 620 Eaton Street was built in 1885 and photographed here in 1900 

620 Eaton Street in 1911 when the property was known as the

 Key West Electric Company Bachelor's Quarters

620 Eaton Street in 1965

620 Eaton Street in the 1990's before restoration was undertaken

I moved to Key West in December 1993 and remember walking by this home many times and thinking to myself "Why doesn't somebody buy this place and fix it up?"  Somebody did and then sold it. The most recent owner improved on the prior restoration and has handed off the property to a new steward.  Maybe somebody will write a blog about this old girl in 2085.  I hope she will still be standing and that the other treasures of Old Key West are keeping her company. They, sadly, don't make them like this anymore.

 620 Eaton Street - December 2012

If you are thinking of buying one of Key West's old ladies, CLICK HERE search the Key West Association of Realtors mls.  You don't need to fill out any forms and nobody is going to track you. It's free and informative.  If you find something you like, please consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. 

616 Eaton Street - A Key West Landmark - SOLD

 

Just about every first time tourist and surely every Key West "Wannabe" has walked or rode by 616 Eaton Street and admired the old house. Some may have stopped and taken a photo or two. Others may have mused about buying the old place and imagined what they could do to transform it - maybe to transform and then flip it. I am here to report that 616 Eaton Street sold earlier this week for the price of $1,700,000. Frank Kerwin of Preferred Properties represented the buyer. Congratulations, Frank!

Some passersby would view the old house as needing paint and probably a new roof as the old metal roof looked rusty and decrepit. I personally found the roof to be one of the better features of the house. The place sometimes had the look of being eerie and other times just in need of some paint and a lot of TLC.  The first time I showed the house I was surprised to see how plain the inside of the house actually was.  I had imagined the house would have had large, grand rooms, tall ceilings, ornate crown moldings and ornate fixtures. Instead, the home is pretty Plane Jane. There is no interior stairway. Nor is there much of anything one would classify as ornate. But that did not bother me. I took it as a blessing, of sorts. Because it presented a great opportunity for a new owner to create a new addition to the rear where all of the the modern living conveniences could be added to a new area behind the existing front.

 The rusty roof viewed from 618 Eaton Street

Rear of 616 Eaton Street - not much to see

Same 'view' about 60 feet further to the south

The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows the house as having 2427 sq ft of living space, a great deal of which is in a rear additon not visible from the street. The Appraiser shows the lot as having 21,581 sq ft which by Key West standards is immense.The lot runs about 258 feet from Eaton Street south towards Fleming Street. The Ambrosia Guesthouse on Fleming abuts the rear of the 616 Eaton Street parcel.

It will be interesting to watch and see what now happens to this historic house. The photo immediately below shows 616 Eaton Street as it appeared nearly half a century ago. CLICK HERE to view more photos of this one of a kind property.

Today it looks like this...

I am sure it will be beautifully restored and will take its place with the other grand old dames that make Key West a special place in the hearts and minds of most people who come here for a visit and those who are lucky enough to live here.

If you are thinking of buying a place in Key West please consider working with me, Gary Thomas. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. Let me help you fulfill your dream of finding a place in Paradise.