1500 Atlantic Boulevard # 214 - Key West Beach Club - Waterfront Condo

The Key West Beach Club Condominiums are located directly on the Atlantic Ocean where each unit has a view of the ocean from the living room and master bedroom. Two buildings make up the condominium complex. Unit #214 is an end unit located in the east building. It has additional windows that look to the east that overlook the nature preserve. The views will never be disturbed.

Unit #214 is one of the most sophisticated and desirable units at the Key West Beach Club. Once you open the front door and look through the elegant foyer and past the living room you see the view the panoramic skyline where the sky meet the Atlantic Ocean.   The ever-changing views of the skyline are mesmerizing. From pre-dawn until the dark of night, you can sit inside your home, lay in your bed, or sit on the deck and watch the kaleidoscope views change.  It is breath-taking.

The cook will never feel trapped in the kitchen in this home. The kitchen opens to the combined dining and living areas. The kitchen includes a pantry and the laundry. Other end unit owners have larger balconies which permitted incorporating the space into the living spaces. There is elevator service to each floor.

The lush carpet from from the living room continues on into the master bedroom as does the custom wood trim. When the drapes are pulled back the ocean views are revealed. Imagine awakening each morning to the soothing sounds of the tides and the sunrise views outside your window. The bathroom includes a soaking tub with shower. Shutters open into the bedroom. The master bedroom includes a very large walk-in closet. 

The guest bedroom is equally large. It has a walk-in closet with a lock-out closet plus en-suite bath. Remember the entry is private (glass doors open onto private entry). 

Beach Club Condominiums have two pools, tennis courts,and a small gym. Each unit has covered parking plus storage.  Condo association fee is $3100 which is paid quarterly.  Fees include cable tv, exterminating, building insurance, building maintenance, ground and pool maintenance, and security.  The buildings and grounds are always spotlessly maintained. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property that is offered at $1,375,000.

CLICK HERE to view more photos that I took of this property. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this beautiful waterfront unit at Key West's premier waterfront condominiums. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me hep you find your place in Paradise.

God Lives Above Eddie's Red & White

One of the earliest memories I have as a child was my mother dropping me off at my grandmother's house in the dark of the early morning. The year would have been around 1949 or 1950. My mother was off to her job at a hospital where she was a telephone operator. My dad was in Greenland working on building Thule Air Force Base.  So in those early years of my life, my grandmother was the guiding force in determining who I would become as a man.

My big brother and me outside the hospital where my mother worked

 My grandmother's house was located on Yates Street in North Denver. The Denver Tramway (streetcar) ran down the middle of her street and terminated near the Lakeside Amusement Park. I have read that amusement parks were typically located away from city centers - out at the edge of towns where land was cheap.  Houses in her neighborhood were mostly modest bungalows built in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  This was at a time before subdivisions were built where all houses looked pretty much the same and before there were shopping centers. Instead, neighborhoods had a small shops where are residents would buy the necessities or get a haircut. This was also a time before everybody had a personal car and when many people relied on public transportation such as a bus or streetcar.  I remember riding the tramway to downtown Denver one summer day where I purchased a goldfish at Woolworths. The lady at the store put my goldfish in a container that looks like a modern day Chinese take-out container.  By the time we got home, the fish was dead. My first funeral. The tramway went out of business in Denver in 1950. I was three years old.

Eddie's Red and White was a two story building located at the opposite end of the block where my grandmother's house was located. The grocery was located on the ground level.  The owners (Eddie and Mrs. Eddie) lived on the second floor. My grandmother and I would walk the block quite often to buy whatever it was she needed on any given day. Two picture windows flanked either side of the entry door. Shelves lined the walls from the floor as high as the ceiling and from front to back, at least that is how I remember it. Small tables with fruits and vegetables were located near the shelves.

Mrs. Eddie was the greeter and cashier. She stood behind a counter that ringed the front part of the store where customers would place the canned goods, vegetables, and meats. Mrs. Eddie was such a sweet older woman. She always smiled at me and was pleasant to my grandmother. They exchanged comments like they were friends.

Eddie was the butcher.  He stood behind the meat counter where he would cut and wrap meat in white paper which he would then tie with a string or tape. The floors in the store were wood. However, sawdust lined the floor behind the meat counter where Eddie worked. I will never, ever, forget the image of Eddie. He always wore black trousers, a white shirt with the cuffs turned up, a black tie, a long white apron with straps tied behind his back, and a white hat tilted forward on his head. His hair was white. He always wore gold wire framed glasses that almost disappeared against his pale white skin. Eddie always had a smile on his face and he always had something kind to say to me.

My grandmother and I would walk the block back to her house with our groceries.  Life was simple then.

I attended the Berkley Methodist Church at the corner of 43rd and Sheridan Street which was located between my grandmother's house and where my family lived a few blocks to the west in the tiny little Town of Mountain View. I attended bible school and church services from as early as I can remember. Whenever the Sunday school teacher or the minister would say the word "God" Eddie's image appeared in my mind's eye. Still to this day whenever I think of God, I see Eddie.

In February 2013 I traveled back to Colorado to attend memorial services for Judge Francis W. Jamison.  I clerked for him when I was in law school.  I had not been back to Colorado for twenty years. I arrived just as a snowstorm hit Denver and left in a blizzard a few days later. The temperature was 20 degrees when I landed. I instantly remembered why I left.

During the following two days I drove past various places that were a part of my life before I moved to Key West. I took photos of my elementary school which now looks abandoned. My childhood house had been added onto several times. The white picket fence, the trees, and gardens my dad put in were all gone. My high school was torn down but had been replaced with a larger building. When I was a kid we would drive the A and W Root Beer stand on 38th or to Wheat Ridge Dairy for a malted milk. The dairy is now an Italian bakery. The places and streets of my youth were totally foreign to me. The first house I purchased as an adult, however, looks great.

What used to be Mountain View Elementary School

The former Wheat Ridge Dairy

The first house I purchased as an adult

I drove by my grandmother's house. Her house, Mrs. Bunger's to the north, and Mr. and Mrs. Simpson's house to the south were still there. But none of the houses looked like they did over sixty years ago. Instead of walking I drove rental car the one block south to see Eddie's Red and White. The building was no longer a grocery.  The brick was painted a lighter shade of red. The Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola logo on the side was painted over. I stood there and reminisced. I saw Eddie and Mrs. Eddie and my grandmother and little me.

Eddie's Red and White

I got back in the car and drove a couple of blocks to my see my old church. I wanted to cry. No the church was still there. It had not been torn down. The Spot Grocery, another small neighborhood grocery and the adjacent three seat barber shop were gone. One of the major moments in my life was graduating off the booster chair and onto the regular barber chair. A liquor store sits on that location.

What bothered me about the church of my youth was the neon sign in front of the building. I remember the church as it was in the 1950s when the nice men and women would walk out the front door after Sunday service and shake hands and converse. They wore suits and dresses and were kind to one another. Where they once stood is now that neon sign. NEON.

On New Years Day I had coffee with a buyer from several years ago. We meet a couple of times a year when she and her family are in Key West. Her son Harry was little more than an infant when we started to look at properties. He is now five. Like a lot of little ones in America, Harry often uses his mother's iphone.  During Christmas week he was asking a lot of questions about Jesus Christ. He looked at his mother and asked "Can you FaceTime with God?"

716 Elizabeth Street - Rear - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, 716 Elizabeth Street (rear), an absolutely charming Key West cottage. This place will "WOW!" you from the moment you approach as you walk down the small lane off Elizabeth Street. 

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"In the heart of Old Town in the middle of the block off a quiet street. Stroll down the walkway and enter the gate to a hidden retreat. Large tropical trees and vegetation that will constantly remind you that you have found paradise. There are two bedrooms and a bath along with living room and kitchen in the front unit and a bedroom and bath with kitchenette in the rear unit. Both units have private outdoor space. The configuration allows for many possibilities. Ready for you to personalize."

A lot of potential buyers want a place they can use and possibly rent to help defray part of the cost of ownership. This property can do just that, but in a way you may not have considered. The rear studio apartment can be rented monthly. It will generate reliable monthly rent every month.  I doubt you would ever need to use the services of a property manager. 

The Monroe County Property Appraiser records show this house was built in 1977. (I found photos of the prior cottage which was razed.) In searching the old Sanborn Fire Map I found the original cottage which was taken down.  Interestingly, the Sanborn map identified the lane to the rear (west) as "Cat Alley". Today Cat Alley is known as Whitmarsh Lane. For readers concerned about flood elevation, this property is located near the top of Solares Hill. 

The property is a legal duplex.  The front unit is the owner's residence with a spacious living area and small but efficient kitchen. A center hall leads to two bedrooms and one bath. The main residence is spotless and in move-in condition. The exterior, likewise, is in near perfect condition.

The rear studio apartment is adorable and is accessed via a path on the north side of the property. You may want to move in there yourself.It ought to stay occupied all year long and would likely stay rented to the same tenant for years to come. With a place this cute, who would want to leave?

The cottage is flanked by garden areas on all four sides. The rear portion of the cottage has a charming covered porch where all you can do is contemplate the glories of living in Paradise. This is pretty much maintenance free living.  Many of the plants are potted (as are many of the denizens on the streets of Old Town).  CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this property.

There is no room for a pool, and there is no off street parking. If you need either 716 Elizabeth Street Rear won't work for you. On the other hand if you want an easy to maintain place that does not require any repairs before or after you move in and that has an easy to maintain yard, this property may appeal to you. 716 Elizabeth Street Rear is offered for sale at $685,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos.

If you would like to see this property or any other property for sale 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.  Let me help you find your place in Paradise.