Over the past few years I have blogged about the various residential and commercial renovation, remodeling, and new construction projects in and about Key West. Today's blog is a year end review of the residential projects during 2020. Readers may have thought construction stopped during the Key West lock down. That was not universally the case. Workers were permitted to continue their work because much of it was carried on outside where social distancing was not an issue. I can report that almost all of the construction people I saw during and after the lock down wore masks. Simonton Street and sidewalks was ripped up from spring to just a couple of weeks ago. Those workers always wore masks even though they worked outside.
Real estate buyers returned to Key West as soon as they were permitted. I talked to several buyers who learned the could work from home and decided they wanted to here versus there. In one week two different buyers from California told me they were fleeing the fires, high taxation, and the millions of other California residents to a simpler life in Key West. One couple told me how they learned to really work from home. Then they decided to find the new home in Key West. What could have been a miserable year for Key West real estate has been the opposite. We have more demand than supply. While location in any town is very important, it is the location of Key West itself that is attracting new real estate purchases.
I encourage readers to click on the photo links. I spent months photographing the changes to these properties. You will see a variety of construction techniques used by various contractors. There are more properties under construction now. They will be included in my next residential update.
221 Petronia Street
I chose the logo photo because the house at 221 Petronia Street in Bahama Village is the poster child for the changes occurring in Key West and especially the Bahama Village neighborhood. The historic house was damaged by fire several years ago and later became a bank owned property. Multiple buyers submitted offers believing it to be low and that the house had only surface damage. The house had street appeal and sat on a good sized lot just two blocks from Duval Street. I blogged about the renovation since 2016. By chance this property was listed for sale this past week. It looks fabulous.
715 Chapman Lane
715 Chapman is one of the last houses on this one block lane to have been renovated. The lane begins at the corner of Petronia Street and dead ends at Angela Street where the Truman Annex Development is located. Chapman Lane is an equal walking distance to the new Truman Waterfront Park and Duval Street. It took longer to construct the waterfront park than we envisioned, Time and money spent was worth it. The Petronia Street Corridor has become a destination for diners and shopping. The original houses of Bahama Village that not been renovated are decreasing in number and increasing in demand by would be renovators. Twenty some years ago the renovated houses were the exception in Bahama Village. Today they are becoming the rule.
CLICK HERE for more photos of 715 Chapman Lane.
533 Petronia Street
533 Petronia Street was neglected for years. The new owners hired architect Matthew Stratton to design the renovation which included moving the house forward on the lot, reversing the driveway location, renovating and enlarging the house from footers to roof, and adding a pool. Landscape architect Craig Reynolds did the pool and landscape design. Only a few boards of of the original house remain - they are there and they were incorporated in the renovation and expansion. But the majority of this house is brand new. The design and construction techniques meet or exceed the State of Florida's high building code. Please look at the photos.
CLICK HERE for photos of the before house and progress photos of the renovation of 533 Petronia Street.
802 Southard Street
Tom Pope, the dean of Key West architects, designed the renovation of 802 Southard Street about which I blogged a couple of weeks ago. The property had been divided into three apartments over the years. The property was restored to a single family home. The "cottage" nearest the house is now the main floor master bedroom. The adjacent cottage is now a one bedroom guest cottage. The house is located at the corner of Southard and William Streets which is the very heart of Old Town. The immediate area has some of the most expensive homes in Key West.
CLICK HERE to view construction progress photos of 802 Southard Street.
806 Southard Street
The home at 806 Southard Street was owned by the same family for generations. After the last member moved out of area, the property was sold. The new owners engaged architect Matthew Stratton who designed the renovation which included adding an interior staircase to make the second floor accessible and a usable part of the home. Prior to renovation the only entry to the second floor was through the front window. All of the interiors were rearranged and a new floor plan established.
CLICK HERE to view progress photos of 806 Southard Street.
710 Bakers Lane
710 Bakers Lane was renovated by Jay Fairbank Construction, one of the premiere general contractors in Key West. The front house and rear two story "odd-duck"cottage were gutted and rebuilt from piers to the roof. The house is located just off Elizabeth Street near the very top of Solaris Hill. A giant Royal Poinciana tree shades the lot from the west side. The house was such a tragic mess when the current owner bought it. It looks just great. I sold the house directly across the street twelve years ago. It was the home of author James Leo Herlihy who wrote Midnight Cowboy. I remember hosting open houses at 709 Bakers Lane and imagining someday it would get renovated. That day has come. It looks great. .
CLICK HERE to view some before and progress photos of 710 Bakers Lane.
1100 Grinnell Street
I blogged about this architecturally interesting home in 2009 and showed it several times thereafter. The place was big but was battered by previous handyman updates that failed. The large lot and rear cottage offered much to a would be buyer, but the size of the lot demanded a of loot to renovate. The renovation has just been completed this year. The renovated exterior is incredible. Good job!.
903 Eaton Street
I sold 903 Eaton Street several years ago to a customer who bought and sold several houses using me as his agent. He purchased the 1950s era concrete block house because it sat on a huge lot in Old Town and could be torn down and a new house built. He spent too much time and money dickering with the HARC bureaucracy and decided to sell it. I got to list it. Another agent in my office sold it. The new owner took down the old house and built this beautiful new 3,000 Sq Ft home which sold for $2,800,000 on December 19, 2020. The house actually went under contract in September before construction was completed. Naysayers who moan and grown about Eaton Street need to come to terms with the new reality of Key West - Key West is the location.
CLICK HERE to view photos of the old house at 903 Eaton Street and construction progress photos of the new one.
608 Grinnell Street
608 Grinnell Street went under contract within a day or so after it was entered into the MLS. The sale closed on December 28, 2018. I recall the listing agent telling me she had multiple offers. Time waits for no one in Key West real estate. I know it is hard for some buyers to make quick decisions. Losing a couple of houses often teaches would-be buyers tough lessons in real estate. This house had a parking spot in the rear entered off of Griffin Lane. The new owner renovated the house, added on to the rear, added a pool, and still maintained an off street parking spot.
CLICK HERE to view construction photos of 608 Grinnell Street Key West.
627 Caroline Street
The old house at 627 Caroline Street had fallen into disrepair. I remember showing it a decade ago when two older female siblings were still living there with dog feces and pee on the floor. The house had a Grand Conch facade, off street parking space, and room for expansion in the rear. If you look at all of the photos you will see how the house was lifted, new piers built in place, re-framed, and new addition and pool added in the rear. Work has been stopped for a while. This property is located one block from the Historic Seaport and two from Duval Street. You cannot ask for a better address. There are several very expensive neighboring homes.
CLICK HERE to view more photos of 627 Caroline Street.
924 Flagler Avenue
I believe many locals view 924 Flagler Avenue to be among the top five to ten homes in all of Key West. It dates back to the 1935 and was in the same family ownership until the current owner purchased it in 2009. Several years ago the owner restored the exterior and interior of the home and garage. The owner just competed a two year project installing a fence and landscaping. The new fence and landscaping is a beautiful addition to the Casa Marina Area.
CLICK HERE to view more photos of 924 Flagler Avenue
1227 Washington Street
I blogged about 1227 Washington Street in April 2018. The same family had lived in the home since it was built. The Casa Marina Area and areas to east have several Craftsman style homes like 1227 Washington that remain remain untouched. This house has a giant Mahogany in front, a garage to the right rear, and once had a long lap pool on the west side. The pool is gone now but may return when the renovation is complete. There is an addition to the rear and the west side is yet to be defined as to what is going on. I can't wait to see the end result.
CLICK HERE to view more photos of 1227 Washington Street
There are several new projects underway including new houses on South and Washington Street, a ginormous house on Sunset Drive, and a new house on Galveston Lane. Here are two that will be interesting to watch.
1221 Royal Street
The house at 1221 Royal Street went under contract very soon after it was listed for sale a few months ago. While the existing house was small, it sat on a large lot in the X Flood Zone in the South of Truman area of Old Town. The house is located near the Congregation B'nai Zion on United Street - just four blocks to Duval Street. The new owner has redeveloped several properties in Old Town. This is one to follow.
CLICK HERE to see more photos of 1221 Royal Street.
916 White Street
A few weeks ago I was waiting at the traffic light at the corner of Truman and White when I noticed that renovation was underway at 916 White Street. I went back to take photos to document the progress for my blog. Notice the original crumbling coral piers are being replaced by new concrete piers being built in place. This is a alternate and less expensive technique to raising the house, digging holes and pouring new concrete piers in place, then lowering the house onto the piers. The interior of the house is already gutted and the back wall is gone. A new addition will be added to the back.
In 1886 an entire village for cigar makers was developed in one corner of Old Town Key West. The
Pohalski and Co. cigar factory was located at the corner of White
and Truman. Cottages lined the nearby streets and lanes as was typical
of the other parts of town where other cigar factories were located.
The cigar maker cottages were simple in design and construction and
provided basic shelter to factory workers. In his book The Streets of Key West, J. Willis Burke writes about Pohalski Village:
"On the other side, off the western [should be eastern] side of the
cemetery are Havana Street and Pohalski Avenue, byways that echo the
area's once thriving cigar-making industry.... In the late 1880s, cigar
magnate Pincus Pohalski, a transplant from Texas built a factory and
then established an entire village within this block." Smaller lanes in
the village include Gerome Avenue which is a City of Key West walking
lane about eight feet
wide and nearby Nichols Avenue which is only about ten feet wide and
runs
perpendicular to Pohalski Lane the rear through street west of White
Street. Division Street at the south is now known as Truman Avenue.
Olivia Street is the terminus one block north of White. At the end of
the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th the people who lived in
these homes probably did not have horses let alone cars. The houses
were jumbled together on small lots accessed via small lanes called
Avenues.
As I wandered to the rear of Nichols Avenue I noticed a row of large potted plants to block the view of the gas station and an address sign on the gate. Read it. Carefully. The renovation of nearly everything is costing us the loss the old Key West.
CLICK HERE to view more photos of 916 White Street.
I will soon be blogging about the commercial projects that finished and are still underway. With few exceptions it takes time to get things done or built here. Key West is after all an island out in the middle of the ocean. With few exceptions (frogs, chickens, iguanas, and volunteer plants) everything thing is brought here by truck, car, plane, or boat. That's not an excuse. It is reality. And that takes time and money to get done. Then you have to add in Hurricane Irma in 2017 that displaced a lot of workers and destroyed a lot of houses. I was working with out of area buyers two weeks ago. I was awed at the number of new modular houses built not so far out of Key West. That demand took skilled workers away from the important job of renovating houses in Key West and building new houses, hotels, and so on. But it gets done. Eventually. At higher than planned prices.
