1214 Varela Street, Key West - Two for One

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West, that is where I work but this is not my listing, 1214 Varela Street and it's cute as can be guest cottage on Knowles Lane. The listing Realtor describes this sophisticated duo this way:

"This exceptional property impresses with a combination of sophistication and elegance coupled with a very high standard of home luxuries. An absolute highlight is opening the front door and looking through the kitchen, dining, living room to the outstanding outdoor living space, surrounded by lush tropical landscaping and a 30 foot glassed tiled pool to the two bedroom two bath guest house. Well-conceived, there are 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in the main house. The master suite on the second level has 2 private terraces, a wall of multiple glass closets and one of the largest bathrooms with a claw foot tub. On the main level there is a bedroom, bath and pantry room adjacent to the massive living space with beautiful built-ins and folding French accordion doors to the outside. Reclaimed Dade County Pine. The guest house backs up to Knowles Lane for privacy from your family or friends."

 As soon as you enter the front door of 1214 Varela Street you sense you are entering into a very beautiful and well planned home. The attention to detail and sophistication is everywhere from the classic Dade County Pine walls and ceiling, the beautiful dark wood floors, the crown moldings and extra tall baseboards. 

There is a main floor bedroom and bath located at the front of the house. As you move forward the kitchen and dining area emerge as does then the living area. The kitchen has top of the line stainless steel appliances, cabinetry, and lighting. You have no idea how many kitchens I have seen where lighting is treated as an after-thought. The new owner of this home will be able to see what is being prepared. The photos above show the tray lights. These can be turned down to create the perfect romantic dining situation or mood for any occasion. French doors at the rear of the great room open out to a covered rear deck area and pool.  The deck continues beyond to the two story guest cottage. You will note the pool and deck are flanked by an alley of tall palms and tropical foliage to create an inviting space to grab that perfect Key West tan.

 The entire second floor of the main house is devoted to the master or mistress of this house. There master bedroom includes private second floor rear balcony that looks down to the pool and guest cottage beyond. The deck is so private you can sunbath al fresco. (Nobody can see.) The bedroom chamber is a big and open area with a vaulted ceiling a bank of windows and a door out to the sundeck. The space includes a sitting area and a more cozy spot for the bed itself. There is a bank of wood doors with glass panels that line the wall of the bedroom and continue on into the master bath. Each closet space is lighted. The bath includes a dual vanity except this one is more like a partner's vanity with sinks opposing each other rather than being side by side. There is a soaking tub and extra large shower with dual rain shower fixtures.

The guest cottage also has been updated. Now there are two bedrooms and two baths, one on each floor. The downstairs portion has a small sitting area and a mini-kitchen where your guests can prepare morning coffee or a late night snack. There is an off street parking space on Knowles Lane.  Your guests can come and go and not interfere in your life. 

The main house and guest house have a combined interior living area of 3100 sq ft and sit on a 6218 sq ft lot which extends all the way through to Knowles Lane (entered from either United Street or Catherine Street).

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet and listing photos (which are great!). Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of 1214 Varela Street which is offered at $2,685,000. It will be like buying two homes for the price of one. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

620 Petronia Street, Key West - Renovation Project on Top of Solares Hill

 Just Listed, but not by me, 620 Petronia Street which sits at the tippy-top of Solares Hill in Old Town, Key West, Florida. The listing Realtor describes this property this way:

"Conch cottage in the X-zone, 3,500+ sq ft lot, 1 off street parking (easily augmented for 2 cars), and just 2 blocks from Duval Street, situated within walking distance of all Old Town has to offer. HARC approved plans by award-winning residential designer, Guillermo Orozco, will convey. Plans include expansion of living space incorporated into the lovely outdoors with a pool. Create your Old Town oasis! Tented in 2013."

The aerial photo above of Solares Hill was taken by Ty Symoski in 1987.  I added the purple arrow and street annotation so that you could see the location of this new listing. I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and learned that 620 Petronia Street existed as of the 1889 map but was then identified as 718 Petronia Street. The address had been changed by the 1899 map. Then I dug into my old shoe box and found photos of 620 Petronia as it existed fifty-one years ago plus photos of the neighboring properties. They are shown below.

These older photos show the way this block looked six decades ago. Our Historic Architectural Review Commission (HARC) reviews any proposed changes to properties the Old Town historic district. The house at 618 Petronia Street is not historic and is in the process of a major renovation and expansion. The little Shoe Shine Stand at 622 Petronia Street no longer exists. That space is now parking for 620 Petronia St. That building was razed around 1967 before HARC was created. The house at 624 Petronia Street still exists and looks today much like it looked when it was photographed in black and white. The mls description states that HARC approved plans to renovate the property will convey with the sale. I had the occasion to look at the plans which basically re-purpose much of the existing interior and expand the rear of the house with a new addition which will provide new kitchen and living space and covered outdoor living and dining area. A new pool will be added as well. The existing facade will remain pretty much in tact. I've seen and written about other projects Guillermo Orozco has done. They are all quite crisp and clean. I expect the same here if his plans are carried forward by the new owner. Let me share some photos of the existing property which I took on a dreary rainy day in Key West. Then I will explain the proposed changes. Let me make sure you understand: this house is perfectly fine as is. It would benefit from a total renovation to add the features most second home buyers are looking for.

The existing house is pretty simple. There is a very large and wide front entry. There are two small bedroom on the left (west) side of the house. The living room is on the right side. That space flows to the rear where the kitchen is located. There is a second bedroom on the right (west) rear. The one bathroom is located between the kitchen and rear bedroom. The proposed plan would gut the existing interior and reduce the entry hallway. This would allow for the creation of two equal sized bedrooms, each with private bath, at the front of the house. The existing rear shed addition (storage) would be removed. A new addition would allow for the creation of a covered rear deck area. The existing kitchen bedroom area would become an expanded great room.

 The renovated house will have two new bedrooms and baths, a new kitchen and living area plus a new covered outdoor dining and living area, plus a pool and off street parking. This area is a mix of full time residents and houses rented as monthly vacation rentals. The proposed renovation sounds like it could become a great second home or possibly a terrific monthly vacation rental. The renovation of the house next door to the west is almost done. They still need  to finish their interiors and add a pool. The house across the street is getting remodeled as well. The property directly across the street is an active community church. It isn't going anywhere except forward into the future. CLICK HERE to see more photos.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property and 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. Let me help you find your Perfect Place in Paradise.

1021 Packer Street, Key West

ATTENTION INTERNET HOME SEEKERS: if you have been searching for a renovation project to create a three bedroom home with a guest cottage, pool, and off street parking, the project property you have been seeking may now be available. I know you are out there on the internet at all hours of the day and night monitoring the Key West mls using various search engines like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and maybe even the real Key West mls website. The new listing at 1021 Packer Street may be the answer to your internet seach.

The house and cottage at 1021 Packer Street shown above was just listed at the asking price of $765,000.  The listing Realtor (not me) describes the house this way:

"Old Town Renovation Project with large lot and tremendous potential. Excellent location in the Heart of Historic District, Spacious with generous sized rooms, excellent natural lighting, soaring ceilings and exposed beams, an abundance of Dade County Pine in every room, separate cottage, perfect for studio or guest quarters, ample room for a pool and deck and off street parking. X flood zone. New roof in 2002."

I looked through my old shoe box and found two photos with the notation 1021 Packer Street. The top photo shows the front of the property as it existed fifty-one years ago. The lower photo shows the small "cottage" at the right rear. The front house looks more like a bungalow than a cigar maker cottage which is the norm for most of the Old Town area. I investigated further. I went to the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and searched the address. The 1912 map shows the entire city block which runs south from Division Street (which is now known as Truman Avenue) to Virginia Street. The map shows there were several small shops and two restaurants that ran east on Division Street from Packer east one block to Grinnell.. Today that same strip on Truman still has commercial buildings most of which are of modern construction. Heading south on Packer from Division Street there were a group of six small cigar maker cottage-style homes. Four still exist today. There is a vacant lot where the other two previously existed. Next were two narrow one story buildings. Today there is one two story building on this lot. The next lot was wide and had two houses: the one identified as 1021 Packer on the north was short and the adjacent parallel house identified as 1023 Packer much longer. They were not and could not be the same houses as exist today which are seen in the black and white photos and identified as 1021 Packer Street. The adjacent lot to the south was vacant. Today that lot has a nicely remodeled more recent home. The last lot was vacant. That lot was and still is a part of the historic Fire House No. 3 located on Grinnell Street. The Sanborn Map detailed that location as being a one horse, one hose cart fire house. All of this tells me that the current 1021 Packer Street was built after the 1912 Map was published. The architecture suggests a house that would have been built in the 1920s or 30s. The Monroe County Property Appraiser website says the house was built in 1938. Maybe it was but maybe it was built in the 1920s before the Depression almost killed Key West. I am a doubting Thomas on the 1938 date.

Building permits show that the roof at 1021 Packer Street was replaced in 2002. The inside of the house suggests that the entire inside was renovated about the same time. Below you will see a series of photos I took which show the current configuration and condition of both buildings and the lot. 

The front porch still has the historic pillars shown in the 1965 photo above. The front porch would typically be the front entrance into the house. The last owner relocated the main entry to the south side. What was the front of the original house is now the back side so to speak. I think it makes practical sense to keep the main entrance on the south side and make the front porch a place for the occupant of the master bedroom to sit on occasion. A small railing could probably be added to keep the porch space private.

 If you are a long time reader of my blog you know that many renovators orient the living room, great room, or kitchen toward the back of the property so that the owner can look out to the pool and gardens. This house does not have a pool, but it has large back yard where a large pool could be constructed. There is an abundance of open space to meet the city's permeable space requirements for pool construction. The existing great room is already oriented toward that awesome future view. The room is quite large and has a vaulted ceiling. There are windows or doors on three sides which provide a lot of nice filtered light during the daytime. Unfortunately the great room (and the rest of the entire house) needs gutted. The good thing is the space is quite large and in pretty good shape.

 I envision that a new owner would add a deck system which would extend the indoor space outward toward the new pool. The existing shed roof might be replaced by a new roof that would match the great room's roof line. Of course an architect or designer could come up with an even better spatial plan. The good thing is a lot of space to work with. That is a very positive feature.

The house has two baths located next to each other on the north side of the house. This does not make sense. I would renovate the first bathroom and convert the next bathroom into a new laundry room and storage area. The bedroom nearest to the great room is good sized and has ample closet space. It would be perfect as the second bedroom for the main house. There is a second guest bedroom located adjacent to the current master bedroom. The master bedroom is located adjacent and takes up about 2/3s of the front of the house. The master bedroom ceiling is vaulted and adds a lot of drama to the space. There is an existing French door that opens out to nothing. I would eliminate the French door and install a new built in bookcase with two windows with a window seat. This would create a bit do drama and eliminate an unnecessary door to nowhere.  I would eliminate one of the two doors that open onto the front porch. This would create more wall space for furniture placement. Finally, I would install a new door a the end of the hall to make the master bedroom into a private master suite. I would transform the existing small front bedroom into a new en-suite bath where I would create a large walk-in closet. If this existing pompous adornments were replaced by simple but classic Key West Conch interiors, this place could look like a million dollars in no time flat. 

The cottage at the rear already has a bathroom. You wouldn't want to use it, but it is there. That means you won't need to get permission to add a new one. The cottage ceiling could be vaulted. Maybe the existing front door could be eliminated and the back French doors relocated to the side which could then open out to the new pool. There are many different opportunities on how this cottage could become that special place for special guests.  CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this property. 

There are pluses and minuses to all neighborhoods. This little block has some fixers and some very nice homes that currently exist like the one directly across the street which is currently offered for sale at $2.4 million.

1021 Packer Street is a 1635 sq ft house situated on a 40' X 93' lot. It is offered for sale at $765,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing. My ideas may not work for you. They don't have to. The neat thing is as a new owner you get to decide how to create the idea home you have been dreaming of owning. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Please give me a call. Let's see if this home might be the renovation project you have been seeking.