712 Ashe Street, Key West - Present Perfect

I have written about the house at 712 Ashe Street in Key West a couple of times for over the past three years. I remember the day I first set foot in the original house. I almost dare not write about the place for fear of any reader thinking that any part of the old house remains except for a few, and I mean FEW, original boards remain, because what used to be belongs in a creepy TV show. The place was a mess from floor to ceiling, front to back, and all places in between. It was scary walking around inside because the floors were so damaged I could have stepped through them. Below are a couple of photos of what used to exist, but mind you and read on to understand, all that was is gone. What you see as of today is all new and very well done at that.

The rear of the original house was torn down. The backyard was cleared all a metal outbuilding and decades of dead foliage. The front part of the house had been modernized sometime in the 1950s or 1960s when the asbestos shingles and windows were added to enclose the original porch.

The house was re-built in a two part process. The new rear section was built first. Only a few boards from the old front porch remain. And when the "renovation" was nearly completed, the boards from the front porch were ripped off.  I took progress photos during the rebuilding. They appear below. You can see more photos if you CLICK HERE.

The previously enclosed front porch is now open and extends west down to the front door - about twenty feet from the front. The front door opens into a vaulted hallway that leads to the great room at the rear. As you near the great room you're gonna be amazed at the height and breadth of the space which now includes a rear wall of glass. The ceiling height is 14 feet.

While the house looks like it is old, it is anything but. The interiors are clean, white, and modern, The new home should appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers. The house has wind impact resistant windows and doors, Hardiboard siding, and all the other features you would expect in new construction including marble bathrooms, quartz counter tops in the kitchen, tongue in groove ceilings, and white ash solid wood floors. The pool is surrounded by Abaco decking and there is even an outdoor shower amid lush tropical landscaping. Finally, the house is located in X Zone so flood insurance is not required.

The new house has three bedrooms two of which share a Jack-and-Jill bath. There is also a guest bath located off the entry hall and adjacent to the laundry closet.

The listing Realtor is also a reader of my blog. He invited me over to see the house while construction was in process. As we stood in the front room before the drywall was installed, he described his vision of how the room would look. Remember I told you the old house was creepy. Below is a pic I took way back when. (I won't write why I called it creepy.) Remember as well the original house was taken down in sections. What you see in the two lower photos is all new construction from the ground up.

This house sits in a really great Old Town location. Ashe Street is a little known street that is tucked in between White Street to the east and Frances Street to the west. Frances is the east boundary for the Key West cemetery. White Street runs the distance between the Atlantic Ocean to Eaton Street. It provides quick access to any part of town to the east. Duval Street is a five to ten minute walk depending your pace. Ashe Street is more narrow than other streets and really does not lead anywhere except out. And because of this, there is not much traffic, no trolleys or conch trains, and few tourists. So a new owner can sit on the front porch and watch the world go by very slowly almost as if this house was sitting on one of the slow lanes of Key West. And remember this block has some of the prettiest little homes on the island. That is why I refer to 712 Ashe Street as being present perfect. If you are a cash buyer, this could be your home by Christmas.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 712 Ashe Street offered at $1,450,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

Just Listed - 1307 Petronia Street, Key West

Longtime readers of my blog may recall that I have written about this Meadows Area beauty a couple of times during the ten years (soon to be eleven years) I have been doing this blog. It was thirty-three years ago that I first came to Key West and that is when I discovered this little island in middle of the ocean with so many old time houses that were stuck in time. Unlike north up in America, the houses here looked pretty much the same in 1984 as they probably did when they were built in the late 1800s or early 1900s. As more and more people discovered the beauty of what is now my island home, the old houses have been bought by new people who have updated them.  The home above is located at 1307 Petronia Street. It is one of the prettier houses about which I have written. 

I checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to try to determine when this home was built. The earliest date it appeared was 1912. A smattering of homes appeared in earlier additions of the maps, but this entire block and two blocks were basically barren. Readers may recall that this area was called The Meadows for good reason - this is where the dairy cows lived back in the days before Key West had refrigerated milk. Dairymen would drive carts through town to deliver milk. The modernization of Key West the conversion for dairy land to residential housing. The black and white photo above shows this house as it appeared in 1965. The color photo immediately above was taken in 2013. The photo at the top of today's post is current.

The listing Realtor describes the home this way:

Located in the highly sought after Meadows, sits this 3-bedroom, 3 bath that has been recently modernized. A traditional entry foyer leads to the first floor living room with 5 large double hung windows and an elegant crafted wall of bookcases. There is den/bedroom with French doors that open to the pool area. The dining area is adjacent to the chef’s kitchen with massive granite counter top, and gas stove, wine cooler and stainless steel appliances. French doors lead to an outside eating area and nice size pool surrounded by decking and lush tropical landscaping. Upstairs there are 2 en suite bedrooms with walk a large master walk-in closet. The master has a very large sunning deck with a spiral staircase to the pool.

I'm pretty certain the original house didn't look or function quite as perfect when it was built as it does today. The formal entry offers guests a more formal entrance into the living area and at the same time allows the owners direct access to the kitchen at the rear or the stairway in between. The living room photos show off the Dade County Pine ceiling. The living room includes a new media center and built in bookcase. Modern touches include new wood floors, crown molding, and new HVAC. Two photos immediately above show readers the location of the first floor bedroom which is being used by the current owner as a den. There is an adjacent full bath on the first floor. French doors open out to the pool from both the kitchen and the den/bedroom.

Both second floor bedrooms are en-suite. The master bedroom shown above has French doors which open out to the sundeck. A spiral staircase leads down to the pool for a late night dip.

1307 Petronia Street even has a bricked parking space for your car. A lot of homes in Old Town and the environs don't. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more photos. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this pretty special home offered at $1,400,000. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

1211 Grinnell Street, No. F - Key West, Florida

Just Listed  by Preferred Properties Key West, 1211 Grinnell Street, No. F. Key West, Florida. I have written about this home a couple of years ago when it was offered as a short sale and later as a bank owned property. The property was sold and has been updated and transformed into a three bedroom two and one-half bath home. CLICK HERE to view more photos.

This home is located in Grinnell Gardens, a unique compound consisting of seven distinctive units which share a large and sunny pool. Each home has one designated off street parking space. These homes were built new in 1994 and replicate the Greek Revival architectural style found in many houses in our Old Town area. This particular home has 1360 square feet of interior living space plus covered first and second floor front porches for private outdoor entertaining. The homeowner association fee is just $200 per month.

As soon as I opened the front door I could see how radically different this house had improved. The former darkly painted Venetian Plaster Walls and Ceiling are now a creamy white. There is new air conditioning, new lighting, and bathrooms. The darkness that hung over that house is now gone. It is light and airy.

The main level great room opens out to the private rear garden which is perfect for outdoor dining almost every day of the year.  It is totally secluded.  The kitchen has been updated with all new stainless steel appliances. Not shown is the first floor guest bath and large closet area which provides real storage space.

The master suite is located at the front of the second floor. The vaulted ceiling soars high and gives the interior a very spacious feeling. The original owner had special features built into this house including extra insulation between the connecting unit to the west and additional insulation between the first and second floors. Noise is contained and coolness is maintained. The current owner removed glass block half-walls in the nook that extends over the front balcony. The result is a much cleaner look.The bathroom cabinet and fixtures were replaced as well.  The front and rear exteriors were painted as well. Since this is  town home, the owner is responsible for exterior maintenance. That will not be a issue for a decade or so down the line. In the meantime, the new owner can sit on the balcony ponder the joys of owning a place in Key West. The view is so special. Remember there are only seven homes that share the pool and the view. By the way, two of the homes here have private pools.

The original home had a second master bedroom at the rear of the second floor. That space was reconfigured into two separate bedrooms both of which share the adjacent full bath. The laundry closet is located at the of the stairs.  The third bedroom is large enough to accommodate a bunk bed set for the grand kids or which could be used as an office.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 1211 Grinnell Street No F which is offered at $945,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule an appointment to see your new Key West home for the very first time. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West, the listing brokerage. If you act quick enough, this could be your home by Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving from a Time Not Too Long Ago

I was eight years old in 1955. I watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade and like a lot of boys my age, I watched Hopalong Cassidy and Mighty Mouse. A couple of years earlier my grandmother took me to the Denver Post to get my picture taken. The Post published photos of  little guys like me decked out for the National Western Stock Show. I was wearing my Hopalong Cassidy chaps, vest, hat, and six shooters. I would post that photo but can't because I messed up my office computer and can't do that today. But I would to prove the point that I admired that man in black because he was good and did good. Always.

Readers of my blog may recall and earlier blog in June of this year when I wrote "My generation grew up watching shows like The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, and SUPERMAN where the principal characters fought and defeated evil each week... We grew up believing America was great and Americans could do no wrong." Most of the buyers and sellers I have worked with in the past twenty two years are or were people my age. (Now they are getting to be younger.)  I am confident we all shared those same experiences and the same values.

Earlier today I thought about how immature I was at age 14. I was and still am a nerd. I lived my own little life - probably afraid of just about everything. A couple of years later when I got my driver's license I drove downtown to the Center Theater to apply for a job as an usher. I didn't get the job. I remember it was early summer and probably near sundown. As I walked back to my car I stopped at the May D&F to watch people playing Putt Putt golf. (The green rectangle in the plaza.) An older man in a suit came up to me and said "I bet I can beat you!"  I knew very little about homosexuals, but immediately suspected he was one. I got the hell out of there immediately. Older men are not supposed to be involved with teenage boys. It's wrong! I have never told anyone about this experience. That was fifty years ago. People who are undecided or who are very opinionated on the Roy Moore controversy should think back to how they processed events in their lives when they were fourteen years old.

I don't know how or why our country has gotten so divisive, but it has. My Thanksgiving prayer would be to bring us back to our common values where no American would consider electing anyone accused of being a child predator to the United States Senate.

Happy Thanksgiving to all that read my blog. I appreciate it. May God Bless our Country and help us get through all that is going on. 

Near Key West on Thanksgiving Eve: 2004

Like many of you I can remember specific holidays from my youth, particularly Christmas Eves and Christmas Days as well as notable holidays later in life. I especially remember the Thanksgiving Eve in 2004 when I drove from Key West with my then real estate broker to look at trailers on Big Coppitt Key.  

I picked her up at her condo shortly around 5:00 PM.  It was still daylight, but I recall the skies were gray and sad. That's unusual for Key West because our skies are normally sunny until near sunset when they explode with color. But on that day they were gray. As we drove up the Overseas Highway she told me about this man from her church who owned several business in Key West and several trailers which he rented out on Big Coppitt Key which is located about five miles east of Key West. He was thinking about selling his trailers and wanted an opinion of value. She wanted his business. I have no real idea why she wanted me to go along, but I did.

We drove up US 1 to a bar where the owner was waiting for us. I recall we followed him down various roads looking at four or five trailers. They were all immobile mobile homes - the wheels were removed. Each place probably dated back to the 1960s of 1970s. There was no measurable difference between them except age and the size of the lot upon which they sat. The lots were the only thing of value. And he owned the lots.

The last trailer is etched in my memory. It was dark when we got to the final trailer. He knocked on the metal door. The woman tenant opened it. She had a cigarette in hand. He explained who we were and why we were there. She waived us inside as she moved to the far side of the kitchen where she grabbed her drink. She didn't care why we were there. She didn't care about anything as far as I could tell. Her oldest son was frying hamburgers. A little one minute movie played out in my mind as I walked quickly from room to room. I remember the smells of the frying meat competing with the lingering odor of mama's cigarettes and the noise created by the meat as it was being destroyed in that too hot skillet while the TV blared and mama spewed out nonsense from her drunken mouth. I moved as quickly as I could to get out of this place. 

The last room I looked in was occupied by a younger boy, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old. He was laying on top of his bed trying to read a book or magazine. There was a small lamp on the night stand or table next to him. I remember the light was so dim. I felt I had invaded this kid's space and left. God, I felt so sorry for that kid who had to live in that hell hole with his cigarette smoking and rum guzzling mother who was too lazy to cook a meal for her kids. I couldn't imagine what their Thanksgiving Day would be like. I was as down as down could get when I walked out of that place.

Eleven months later Hurricane Wilma caused catastrophic damage to Big Coppitt Key where most of the mobile homes became uninhabitable due to severe wind and water damage.

Key West was damaged by Wilma as well. I don't recall when it was that I thought about that boy. In that room. In that hell hole. I am sure he didn't drown or anything like that. But I thought what another indignity for him to have to live through. That trailer must have been destroyed.

Thirteen years have passed since that Thanksgiving Eve. I hope that boy made it out of that living situation okay. I understand why some people end up as criminals and why others end up as successes.  I wonder which he became.

 P.S.  She did not get any listing from the old investor. He listed with someone else. Figures!