517 Grinnell Street - Old Town - Key West

I got to take photos of 517 Grinnell Street a couple of days ago. As I neared the completion of my task, I told the listing agent "I love my job" and added that I get to see so many beautiful homes. This home has got to be among the very best in all Key West. The property is owned and listed by Rudy Molinet and Harry Hoehn of Marquis Properties who describes the property thus:

"Luxurious and Elegant renovation of a classic 5 bedroom estate in highly coveted Old Town Key West. Highest quality finishes and exquisite interiors earned a Ceramic Star Award for Historic Renovation. Dade County Pine walls and heart-pine floors. Spectacular kitchen with African Anigre Wood cabinets and Brazilian Azul Macauba granite. Ten foot high ceilings. Huge master suite with walk-in closet/dressing room, vaulted ceilings, private balcony, and walk-in master shower. Three master suites including a first floor master bedroom. Nearly 6000 square foot lush tropical lot. 40 foot heated pool with waterfall. Off-street parking for 2 vehicles. Spacious detached guest house. A Breathtaking Historic Treasure in Old Town Key West."

Look below to see how the original house and rear two story cottage looked before the properties were literally taken apart and rebuilt. I dug into the old shoe box and found the black and white photo of the property taken in 1965. Compare that somewhat pure visage with the next pic which shows how the house looked a couple of years ago before the restoration began. Then take in the newly renovated home the way it looks today. Is there any wonder why this property was awarded a Ceramic Award for Historic Preservation? I think not.

This home was the 21st such renovation undertaken by the owners.  They designed the project in cooperation with local architect Michael Miller.  While the newly rebuilt houses look like period correct properties on the outside, key elements of the interiors are quite contemporary with a blend of historic materials such as Dade County Pine walls and 2 over 2 windows. Ten foot high ceilings on the first floor and vaulted ceilings on the second give the home a spacious and bright ambiance. The kitchen, for example, is sleek and  utilitarian. The African Anigre Wood cabinets and Brazilian Azul Macauba granite are knockouts. The bathrooms throughout both houses are sleek and seductive, especially the master bath in the main house.

Let's take a quick tour of the two homes. We shall start at the front porch of the main house and work toward the guest cottage.

As soon as you enter the interior you know you have arrived at someplace important.  Nothing has been left undone. No detail was too small not to matter.  The Dade County Pine was removed from the original houses and re-planed and eventually reinstalled but not necessarily where it was originally located. The wood floors in the main house are river-reclaimed antique heart pine. The wood was harvested from rivers in central Florida by divers who retrieve logs that sank years ago on the way to the mill. The wood is about 500 years old and, once harvested, is custom milled into elegant and gorgeous wood floors. Crisp new baseboards, window and door trim, and crown molding punctuate each room. Subtle recessed lighting is located throughout both houses.  The owners invested heavily in insulation of all walls and ceilings and even insulated the floors from below the house.  The house is very quiet and energy efficient with high SEER air conditioning and gas on-demand water heaters.

The main house has a first floor guest room (or office as presently used) with en-suite bath. This room is large enough to function as a master bedroom in the event the stairs become an issue later in life. Glass doors give the room some privacy while at the same time stylishly separate the room from the rest of the house.

The entry hall leads to the rear where the large living room is located. Just after you pass the guest bath located off the entry hallway you will see a notable feature of this home which is the newly added rounded wood tower that evokes the style of historic of a historic tower common in Victorian architecture. Michael Miller suggested adding the tower to give this home architectural distinction.  The first floor space expanded the interior dining area. The second floor portion is used as the closet and dressing area for the master suite. The roof is covered in metal Conch shingles. The tower itself was built with a steel frame sitting on a large concrete footer. The windows are impact rated.  The scalloped cedar shingles are painted the same color of the house.  While the look is historic, the tower is constructed of  modern building materials to comply with the 155 mph wind load of the building code.

The ground floor portion tower extension dramatically expands the living space and adds lots of light from the outside. So many homes in the Old Town area are hindered by tall neighboring properties or too many trees that sap up the sunshine. This home has lots of windows throughout.

Retractable glass doors known as Nana walls make up the rear wall of the main level. These doors stack to the side which allows the outside living room and dining area to become an extension of the main part of the home.  When I first walked out to this space my eyes went toward the guest cottage and pool, but then my attention came right back to the incredible floors and columns which give this space the feeling of being a real "room" except that the space is "outdoors".  The floors in this outdoor living space are IPE with inserts of Pink Cuban tiles from the original house that were salvaged. The tiles were individually refinished by local jeweler Diamond Dave. The Cuban tiles were re-installed by tile master Tommy Lapp over historic cistern that was reactivated and which is now used for irrigation. A computer system regulates the filling of the cistern from rainwater retrieved from the gutters.

The second floor of the main house includes the quite inviting and almost invisible front porch where you can sit and watch the world go by down below. The porch is located just off the second floor front bedroom.

Note the vaulted ceiling of the front bedroom which gives this area such a spacious feeling. This bedroom has an en-suite bath.  The second floor hallway also leads to the rear where the master suite is located.

The master suite has an almost circular flow from the sleeping area to the bath and then back around to the dressing area and closet.  The closet must be one of the most expensive in all of Key West given the cost of constructing the rounded tower.  Two sets of French doors open out to the sundeck which is a perfect place for private sun worship or whatever. There is a great view of the super seductive 40 foot long pool and water wall from the deck. 

The guest cottage is so nice and so well designed and thought out that guests may refuse to leave. This has got to be the best guest house of any I have seen in Key West.  This building, like the main house, was totally redone. And like the main house, the interiors are all contemporary.  Below are a few photos that help illustrate why I find this guest space so seductive. As I finished taking photos of the pool I notice a hidden rear deck just off the first floor bedroom. I snapped some pics and went inside and said "Wow!". 

The hallway leads to the bath and later the kitchen and then the two story living room.  Talk about dramatic spaces.  Wow again.

I took a lot of photos which you may see if you CLICK HERE. I encourage potential buyers to look through all the photos. The photos offer a glimpse of the the thought that went into the design and construction of 517 Grinnell Street which is offered at $2,895,000.  Better than just looking at photos, please contact 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. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

Key West Recovery...and not from a Hangover!

I awoke very early this morning. I live in the Casa Marina area of Key West which is normally uber quiet. Some bozo continued to set off firecrackers to celebrate the new year into the wee hours of January first. So I got up and had my coffee, looked for emails (I actually had some from late yesterday), and decided I would go to the office to work on my blog. I made the annual trek up to Bourbon Street Pub to view the havoc left on the street.

Duval Street was impassible when I tried to drive past the bar. There were dozens of workers with wind blowers moving confetti, plastic cups, and beer bottles around so that big street sweepers could pick up the tons of trash the merry-makers created.  I took my pics and as I turned to go across Duval for a close-up of the bar which was featured on CNN after the Times Square drop, I noticed an old derelict lying on the sidewalk.  I could tell from his heavy snoring, disheveled clothing, and offensive odor that he was used to sleeping in public.  I'm not so sure he celebrated last night as much as he tolerated all of the zanies who came to Duval Street to welcome the new year. The partiers will have today to recover from their merry-making. 

Key West, on the other hand, I am happy to report has already made a remarkable recovery from the downturn that affected the national economy for the past several years.  Buyers have spent the past year buying up the stale inventory of unsold houses and then started buying up new listings as though the past five or six years never happened. The Old Town and Casa Marina areas continued to lead the way as far as sales for Key West go.  There were 29 sales of single family homes priced between $1,000,000 to $1,999,999. This sale count is up one from the 2011 sales total of 28 homes that sold in this price range. And in 2012 there were 6 sales of houses priced over $2,000,000. I was surprised to see that there were 7 homes priced over $2 million that sold in 2011. So Key West lagged in that price point this year.  A total of 262 single family homes were sold in Key West (mile marker 0 to Shark Key but nothing beyond).  As I looked over the houses that did sell I noted many that had been on the market for over a couple of years. 

Key West had several commercial real estate sales that were also worthy of note. Among those were the separate sales of Seascape Guest House ($2,000,000), Coral Tree Inn ($2,100,000), Cypress House ($3,850,000),  Oasis and Coconut Grove Guest Houses ($7,200,000). Three commercial buidings on Duval Street also sold including 526-528 Duval Street ($4,500,000), 117 Duval Street ($5,500,000) and 400-408 Duval Street ($19,130,000).  I am advised of a couple of large assemblages that will close in 2013 which will then be redeveloped.

Buyers that are awaiting the market to recover might want to accept the premise that the recovery has already occurred.  I had some buyers in town a couple of weeks ago who remained skeptical of the strength of our real estate market. One gent expected the market to decline again. I have no way of predicting the future any more than anyone else.  But I do believe past performance is a good indication of what will happen in the future.  I have been selling houses (and a couple of guest houses) since 1997. Prior to the down turn, houses in Key West tended to appreciate in value between 10 to 13% per year.  I pointed out to my buyer that not all other areas in Florida share the Key West sub-tropical climate. Areas like Miami and Ft Lauderdale, Naples and Sarasota do not have the kinds of restrictions on growth that Key West has.  These restrictions prevent Key West from increasing the number of living units or in making buildings taller to accommodate more people.  It simply cannot happen. As a result our managed non-growth tends to force prices higher to keep pace with the demands of more and more people who dream of eventually owning a place here. 

909 Pohalski Lane - Key West - Open House - Sunday

I will be hosting an Open House on Sunday, December 30, 2012 at 909 Pohalski Lane in Old Town Key West from 12:00 to 3:00 PM. If you are in the area, please drop by and see this cute as can be Key West "cottage" that has just been renovated and expanded into an 1120 sq ft home with 2 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a designer kitchen, and oodles of Key West charm.  This home was featured in the 2012 Christmas Home Tour.  Please take a sixty second tour of the home by watching the video below. Then you will want to see the real thing in person. Offered at $695,000.

45 Spoonbill Way - Key West - Bank Owned

 

Recently listed, but not by me, a very clean two bedroom, two bath town home located at 45 Spoonbill Way in the Key West Golf Club Community.  This 900 sq ft two story town home has main level and second floor front and rear porches which seem to enlarge the living space dramatically.  All of the porches on this property are screened. I personally would remove the screens, but that is a matter of preference. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this property.


This Bank Owned home is very clean and in basic move-in condition.  The listing Realtor describes the home this way:

"Island Style Living At Its Best In This Private Community! Key West Golf Club Townhome Only Steps From The Pool! Spacious Living Area On The First Floor With French Doors Leads You Outside To Enjoy Your Screened In Porch. Second Floor Has 2 Bedrooms, Each With Their Own Bath, A Laundry Closet On Main Level, And A Large Balcony Off The Master Bedroom."

45 Spoonbill Way is located about 50 ft away from the largest of the two Key West Golf Club swimming pools. You can see the pool while peaking through the trees from the back porch. The community fitness center is located adjacent to the pool.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this Bank Owned property which is offered at just $299,900.  But better than that please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing of this bank owned property.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

513 Margaret Street - Old Town - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, 513 Margaret Street in the very heart of Old Town Key West. The listing Realtor describes this impressive home this way:

"This historical family home is located in the heart of Old Town Key West. Beautiful hardwood floors, natural light and spacious rooms provide the backdrop for an elegant Keys Lifestyle. The main floor is designed for entertaining with spacious living, dining and large family room. French doors extending from all rooms to the private and serene Debra Yates custom pool and tropical gardens. A chef's kitchen is easily accessible from the outdoor living area and amazing pool. Impressive crown molding and gleaming hard wood floors are just a few of the rich details that make this home a one of a kind. Five bedrooms and 5.5 baths provide a spectacular retreat that offers consummate privacy yet offers easy accessibility to all Key West to offer."

I dug deep into the old shoebox and found a photo taken in 1965 and then took a similar pic to contrast with the way the house, built in 1889, looks today.  You will note that the second floor porch is no longer "enclosed" and that the pure white exterior wood siding is now a soft beige punctuated by bright white trim and green shutters. The barren landscape has been replaced by specimen palms and lush tropical foliage.  In two words I would describe this home as "Picture Perfect". But this home is much more than a pretty facade.

 About ten years ago the original house was expanded and a guest cottage and pool were added.  The home as a very traditional look from the street, but the interiors have been updated for modern family living.  The house continues to have a formal living area on the first floor which is followed by either a family room or dining room. The master bedroom with en suite bath is at the rear. Just off the back is a secluded outdoor shower.  French doors open from the spacious master bedroom out to the pool area. This space is perfect for the laying in bed and reading the paper and sipping morning coffee or taking a late night dip before retiring. Since this bedroom is on the main level, older buyers won't need to worry about climbing stairs.

The guest cottage, built in 2002, has two bedrooms and two baths. One bath opens off the pool and doubles as a pool bath.  The guest cottage has a disappearing wall which gives it a lot of flexibility as far as use.  It offers great pool views, but from a different perspective than the master bedroom. Both the guest cottage and master bedroom have privacy in mind. With a house this beautiful, you might not want to rent it to strangers, but trust me on this, this home would make a perfect vacation rental.

The upstairs has a much more traditional layout with two bedrooms each with a private bathroom. The front bedroom is my favorite and for good reason. It has access to the fantastic front porch that has commanding views of Margaret Street.  You could sit up there and watch people all day long. And as we know, the people in Key West are among the most interesting in the world to watch.

CLICK HERE to view a slide show of photos I took of this wonderful Key West property that is now offered at $2,400,000.  This home has 2557 sq ft of living space under air plus front porches on the first and second floors, a huge deck, an 18' x 10' pool with waterfall, off street parking, guest cottage, and killer good looks. The home sits on a 54' x 101' sq ft lot. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. You may also CLICK HERE to view the floor layout for this property.

We all know the value of location. This home is located on one of the best blocks in Old Town. It sits amid other stately homes and delightful cottages of superior value. A neighborhood vegetarian market is one half block away. The Historic Key West Seaport is two blocks further north. Michael's steakhouse is up on the opposite corner at Southard Street. And the Duval Street restaurants, shops, and nightlife are four blocks to the west.

If you would like to see 513 Margaret Street or any other home in Key West, please contact 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 Key West. 

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The Santa Caper

 
Christmas is, for me, always a time for reflection. I look back to my childhood with such fondness for the way  things were back in the 1950s.  I live in the present and don't dwell on the past, but I cannot shake my memories of wonderful times past.

My parents were barely out of their teens when my sister was born in 19030.  Five years later my big brother was born. Those two kids got to live through the Depression and moved with my mom and dad from city to city wherever my dad could find work. I came along in 1947 and had the good fortune to live in a family who thought the Depression was still going on. Throughout my youth and teen years, my mother was as tight as old Ebeneezer.

Still I remember the cookies and fudge and divinity she made, the sprinkles and gum drops and hot chocolate too.  Even back then they sold Christmas trees by the foot.  She cheated and bought a shorter tree and placed it on top of our coffee table which made it look taller. There is an old photo of tiny me, looking up at that special tree. I remember one night so damned well, I pulled on an ornament, and down the tree fell. She screamed at wee me and I thought bloody hell, I'm done for.

A few years later on Christmas Eve day, I was helping my mother clean out the refrigerator to make room for our Christmas feast. I was perhaps eight or nine years old. I placed every single thing from the refrigerator on top of the blond drop leaf dining table with its extended leaf. (I must diverge a moment: years earlier I learned about electricity maybe ten feet away from that very table. I stuck a key into an outlet and across the room I flew in flash.)

My dad liked to try new things. He also liked to buy in bulk. I guess he thought the more you buy, the more you save. Once he took me to the store and bought an entire box of Peter Paul Mounds. One was great, two was wonderful, three was pretty good still, but after four the thrill was over. I was a little pig and ate the whole box, but I learned that too much of a good thing is more than enough.

Just before Christmas my dad found this new time saving can of concentrated coffee (the size of a big old tomato juice can).  The concept was simple: put a spoon of concentrated coffee into a cup, add hot water, and whamo you have hot brewed intensely rich coffee.  The last item I placed on the drop leaf table was the big can of liquid coffee. Back then tin cans had holes punched on either side to allow air pressure to let the contents flow: I guess resealable tops had not yet been invented.  At first the table leaf teetered, and then it tottered. I reacted quickly, but not quick enough. The table tumbled onto our brand new wall to wall carpet.  Bloody hell again!  I thought for sure I would die on this day. I raced to the phone and called my dad to come home quick, I told him my mom was going to kill me for my bad little trick.

I think it was the next Christmas that my folks last spent together. My dad had been in the hospital for some unspoken problem which I know think involved in prostate. I remember being surprised and so happy when he came home on Christmas Eve day.  I told him how much I missed him and loved him. I remember him hugging me so tightly that day.  A week later on New Year's Eve day we all awoke to a great fire. No, it wasn't at my house but we did not know where it was at first. The sirens were screaming in our little town. That sort of thing just did not happen back then. Sirens and cops and fire engines were foreign to me.  We looked out from our living room window to flames and smoke more than three blocks away. I remember it well, this truly was bloody hell. The next day was New Years Day, my birthday.  I walked up to the scene of the fire: a Safeway store at 38th and Benton. I remember people walking among the ruins. The front wall was gone and water was all over the floor. People were picking up cans of food as though they were souvenirs or something. Like a little fool I followed the adults inside and found a lime, which I kept as my prize.

By the next Christmas my mother and dad had divorced. My mother told me there would be no Santa Claus that year. She said I was too big. I was not too big: I was still a squirt. My big brother had told me continuously for years that there was no Santa. The year prior (when my dad came home from the hospital) I went shopping with my mother and grandmother.  My prying eyes spotted little toys and a 45 RPM record of Ave Marie that ended up in my Santa stocking on Christmas Day. So I reluctantly admitted to myself that my treacherous brother hadn't made this stuff up. Well, he was still being mean: he told me because he wanted to spoil Christmas for me. Not so fast, you big dick.  I'll teach you one last trick.

So on that Christmas Eve day when I was told not to hang my stocking, I decided instead to go Christmas shopping.  I went to Woolworth's and bought some candy and small toys including pieces for my Lionel train set.  (My Christmas stocking was always an old nylon hose of my mother.  Since we did not have a fireplace or chimney, I would hang it on the switch of a floor lamp in our living room. I made sure to leave the front door unlocked so so Santa could get in to give me toys and treats.)  After I completed my shopping, and while my mother was still at work, I found an old stocking which I crammed it the toys from my earlier day's work. I hid it in the garage. Before I went to bed that last Christmas Eve night,  I made a point of going into my mother's bedroom to get one final stocking. I hung it on the lamp. My mother said, it would be of no use. She knew not of my soon to be ruse. I went to bed, but not to sleep.  In the middle of the night through the house did I sneak  while my mother and brother continued to sleep. Then I crept to the garage to retrieve my shocking stocking. While my mother and my brother continued to doze, my Christmas trick replaced her old nylon hose.

For every year that I could remember, I would spring from my bed by dawn's early light, to see what Santa had left me that night. I remember on year my mother yelling at me from her bedroom with the door ajar, to get back into bed! So that last Christmas I stayed in bed until my mother and brother had arisen, and through the door, did I listen. She asked my brother if he had filled the stocking toys and treats not to be found in our house. No he said, had she? How could it be, did Santa exist after all? I finally got up and delighted with myself played with my Christmas stocking. I never  admitted to a thing.

Merry Christmas to my Dear Readers!

Gary

909 Pohalski Lane - Open House - Today - Key West

If you are out and about in Old Town Key West this Sunday afternoon please drop by 909 Pohalski Lane between 12:00 and 2:00.  Look at the 60 second video below. You'll then wanna see this lovely two bedroom, two and one-half bath home in person. Offered at $695,000.