115 Front St #103, Key West - Spectacular Harbour Place Condominium

You'll be on permanent vacation if you buy this ocean front Harbour Place Condominium in Key West. People from around the world come to Key West to see our incredible sunsets. You'll have the perfect ring-side-seat to view the nightly sunset celebration without leaving the comforts of home. 115 Front Street #103 is listed for sale by Preferred Properties Key West.

This unit is located in the former Administrative Building of the US Navy Station Key West. The two black and white photos were taken in 1969 during the last inspection of former President Harry S. Truman who lived on the opposite side of this building in what is now known as the Little White House. The former Navy grounds and several of the original buildings were renovated and many others built new to create the Truman Annex residential community. Harbour Place Condominiums is one of the communities. And most of the units have direct water views. This unit has a particularly incredible view.

Trust the brass at the US Navy to get the best views. You can now have those views from the front deck of this condo as well as the inside of the spacious 2060 square foot residence which has been tastefully updated. Doors in the living room open to the front deck and the side deck which wraps around the unit. Both the master suite and guest bedroom have doors which open out to the side decks. As an owner you'll love opening the bedroom door in the evening as ocean breezes wiff thru the room.

This unit has a valuable Truman Annex transient license which permits 25 weekly rentals and unlimited monthly vacation rentals of 28 days. Harbour Place is located steps away from Mallory Square, the site of the nightly sunset celebration, as well as many popular restaurants and our famous Waterfront Playhouse. The new Truman Annex waterfront park is located just to the south. Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and Beach are located within easy walking distance. And world famous Duval Street is just two blocks to the east. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and to view more photos of 115 Front Street #103 offered for sale at $3,000,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties.

11 Nassau Lane, Key West - Just Listed Enchanting Old Town Cottage

Just Listed, 11 Nassau Lane, Key West. I have written several blogs about the previous owners who fell in love with this little house even before we made it to the inside. This was the first and only house these buyers looked at. It was love at first sight.  That was about seventeen years ago. It is now available for purchase.

The owners believe this home was built circa 1860 just before the start of the Civil War. Although this home has been updated and expanded, the Dade County Pine walls in the living room and kitchen are extra wide boards which are indicative of very old growth wood. A previous owner replaced the original floors, remodeled the kitchen and bath, added French doors to the side and rear bedroom.

The current owners converted the main floor bedroom at the rear into a den and added a Murphy Bed (not shown in these photos.) The garden view is joyous.

Several years ago the owners added a second floor bedroom and bathroom plus covered rear porch and and created a love nest in the process. Who wouldn't fall in love with a treetop space this precious?  The vaulted ceiling with skylights, sharp repetitive angles, plus contrasting natural and painted woods are juxtaposed to the expansive open views of the surrounding trees and blue sky. As the photographer was snapping photos of this space, I noticed strands of shells suspended on the porch. They shimmered like gems. Yes. They shimmered like gems. Precious gems.

CLICK HERE to view more photos of 11 Nassau Lane in Key West. All furniture conveys with the purchase or may be given to charity. The bricked gardens and walkways are lighted and irrigated and contain numerous varieties of tropical trees and foliage, bromalides, and orchids.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and view more photos on 11 Nassau Lane, Key West offered at $899,000 by Gary Thomas at Preferred Properties Key West.

710 Baker Lane, Key West - Renovation Project in Prime Location

JUST LISTED, but not by me, 710 Bakers Lane, Key West. The historic house (pictured above) appears on the 1899 Sanborn Fire Map. However, the Monroe County Property Appraiser records show official construction date as 1901. Same difference. The lot measures 50.3' wide and 100' deep. Bakers Lane is located near the peak of Solares Hill, the highest point on the island of Key West.

I searched my old shoebox and found two photos attached above that show the location (aerial photo above taken in 1979) and the black and white pic taken in 1965 showing the front porch with entrance on the right. The porch now extend to the left where the entrance is now located adjacent off street parking for two cars.

Many changes occurred to the property over the years and they are not all pretty. This is a fixer property. The photos will scare some buyers but will enthrall others because of the prime location situated amid many multi-million dollar homes at the highest point on the island. The lot is very large and basically free of trees giving a developer many renovation options. By this I mean some lots have giant old trees which are protected and may not be taken down. The existing trees on this lot are small and may be cut down.

710 Bakers Lane as viewed about 2/3 way in the lot. The listing Realtor describes the house as a one bedroom one bath home with 1056 sq ft of living space. See the photos below for a glimpse of what is. I would assume any new owner would totally gut the interior, remove the applied rock facade on rear, and rebuild the entire structure. The point is what you see is not the mess pictured but the opportunity to create something new in a great location.

There is an existing very large pool in the center of the lot with a stand alone building at the rear. That building is located about seven or eight feet from the rear setback which means it could be renovated in place and not have to comply with current and more stringent setback requirements. Perhaps a new owner might add a second story or simply capture some of land under the current canopy on the left.

There is a gate at the rear of 626 William Street which gives that owner a secret access to Bakers Lane. That house sold in October 2018 for $3,75,000. It was rebuilt by Broadway impresario Jerry Herman a couple of decades ago. James Leo Herlihy (author of Midnight Cowboy) lived across the lane at 709 Bakers Lane about the same time period. I sold that house about ten years ago to another author. Bakers Lane is located half-way between Southard Street to the north and Windsor Lane to the south. The lane dead ends about 200 feet from its beginning. This house and an adjacent property are the two houses which have not been renovated. The others are utterly charming.

(As I write this I recalled that several other notable literary figures lived within a few hundred feet of this location including James Merrill,John Ciardi, Phillip Burton. See the group photo below.)

From top left: James Merrill, Evan Rhodes, Edward Hower, Alison Lurie, Shel Silverstein, Bill Manville, Joseph Lash, Arnold Sundgaard, John Williams, Richard Wilbur, Jim Boatwright. From bottom left: Susan Nadler, Thomas McGuane, William Wright, John Ciardi, David Kaufelt, Philip Caputo, Philip Burton, John Malcolm Brinnin.
 I borrowed the above photo from the Key West Literary Seminar. Of this photo Arlo Haskle wrote:

"How many words is a picture worth if its subjects have penned more than many thousands of bestselling words apiece, already read by tens of thousands of readers? If in their beach bags are five Pulitzer Prizes, a few National Book Awards, two Bollingen Prizes, and office stationery from the U.S. Poet Laureate?"

 Buyers with an interest in the past may find this literary connection interesting, others probably will not. The reason I point out connection is these men and women all chose this location as their place of solace. I often refer to life on our little lanes as "life on the slow lanes of Key West".  There are o speed bumps on this Bakers Lane. You couldn't get a car or even a bike up to more than a couple of miles per hour. That's a good thing. The rest of the world spins around like crazy all the time. It's good to have a place where nothing hardly ever happens.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 710 Bakers Lane offered at $995,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up an appointment to see this property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  Even though the asking price is pretty high, I think this place will sell fairly quickly. This is a great location with many development possibilities. If you wait too long, someone else will beat you.

619 Virginia Street, Key West - OPEN HOUSE TODAY

If you are out and about today between 12 and 2 PM please stop by 619 Virginia Street to see this beautiful new Old Town two bedroom, three bath poolside home where I will be hosting an Open House. Offered by Preferred Properties Key West at $899,000.

This residence has a wrap-around deck that overlooks the pool plus a private side yard. The interiors feature porcelain floors, high baseboards, crown molding, down lights, beautiful kitchen with granite counter-tops and stainless steel appliances.

The front guest bedroom has an en suite bath plus deck that view the rear garden of St Mary's Basilica next door to the east.

The master bedroom overlooks the pool below and has both northern and eastern exposure. Note all of the windows and doors are wind impact glass. This home also has built in fire suppression system. This home is located in the X Flood Zone which means no flood insurance will be required by mortgage lender. And because this home is built to Florida's highest building code, the homeowner and wind insurance is only $2,007 per year (total price).

It has adjacent designated off street parking and a white picket fence.  And it is located just one block from world famous Duval Street.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 619 Virginia Street. Better yet come by and see the home in person. If you buy this house this weekend, it could be your home by Christmas.