916 Eisenhower Drive - The Meadows Area - Key West, Florida

Just listed by yours truly, 916 Eisenhower Drive which is located in the Meadows Area of Key West. The home was originally built in the late 1890s.  It was owned by Sally Rand, the fan dancer, after World War II.  Later owners in the early 2000s undertook a significant restoration and addition to the property for which they were awarded the 2005 Florida Keys Foundation's Preservation Award, a ceramic star, which is displayed on the front porch.  The award is given to exemplary properties in recognition of their method of preserving the existing historic fabric and new construction that exits compatibly within an historic neighborhood. A lot of houses get updated or remodeled each year. Only the best get this award.

The house itself exudes Key West charm from the classic revival front, the gingerbread that adorns the two tiered front porches, and the lush tropical setting. Inside, the home has a formal entry hall which denotes a house of importance. To the left is the large living room with two sets of French doors that open to a side porch. A floor to ceiling bookcase was added by the prior owner as part of the renovation. That bookcase later appeared as a focal point when the house and its owners were featured in a New York Times piece.  A photo from that article appears below along with a photo that shows the same area today.

Barbara P. Fernandez for The New York Times

A child's blackboard replaces the decorative items from before but the room is still chic

The hallway features Dade Count Pine walls and crown molding. A small oil painting of 916 Eisenhower Drive graces the entry way.  Ancient windows with glass that ripples accentuate each room. Upstairs you will find two bedrooms and a bath. Both bedrooms have access to second floor porches.

The kitchen is located in a sawtooth addition behind the main part of the house. This room has a vaulted ceiling and Dade County Pine Walls which seamlessly blend with the new modern cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and marble counter tops to create a warm "homey" feeling. The star of this room is the wide windows that open out to the outdoor living room. The chef and the family or friends are never separated. And what a view the chef has by the way.

 

Just beyond the dining area you will find an open living area as well. That's the perfect place to sit and contemplate how Congress is going to fix the debt crisis. But until that happens, it's also a good place to sit and enjoy life looking out at the pool or watching your honey in the kitchen. You can view more photos of this property if you CLICK HERE.

The master bedroom with en-suite bath plus an outdoor shower deluxe is located to the right of the outdoor living area shown just above. French doors on two sides of the room open out to the fresh Key West air.  The current owners are sharing the bedroom space with two precious little girls. I found a photo that shows how the master bedroom looked when the former owners had it photographed.

Copyright Blair Gordon Design

916 Eisenhower Drive is a three bedroom, two and one-half bath home with 1606 sq ft of living space under air plus large porches on front and sides plus the outdoor living room (which is not counted as living area).  The 4011 sq ft lot is lushly landscaped with tropical foliage and Chicago brick lines much of the remaining space. This special Key West property is offered at $949,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet.  If you would like to see this home, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642.  I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

812 Fleming Street Unit #6, Old Town - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, 812 Fleming Street, Unit #6, Key in Old Town Key West.  This top floor unit has a commanding view of Fleming Street from the broad covered balcony. There you can watch one of the best people parades on a daily basis or enjoy the roof top views of our little town.  The listing Realtor sums up this property this way:

"Wonderful Old Town condominium in beautiful condition and ready to move in. 9ft ceilings, Dade County pine walls and floors throughout and a great cathedral ceiling above the 200sf balcony overlooking Fleming Street. This third floor, one bedroom, one bath unit with 618 sf of living space is a true gem with tons of natural light. In the back yard there is a pool and private grounds. Seafoam Condominiums consists of eight condominiums and two commercial units."

Timmy Tuxedo is one of the two commercial units in the building

I searched the old records and found a Property Appraiser reference that the building was actually built in 1906 despite what the computerized property records show. (The old courthouse burned years ago and members of the WPA reconstructed property records based on the year they created the new data system which was 1933 unless they had independent verification otherwise. It is not uncommon to have two sets of totally opposing dates. The style of the original building certainly looks much older than the types of buildings built during the middle of the Great Depression for one important reason: they were not building new buildings in the Depression.)

812 Fleming Street in 1965

812 Fleming Street in January 2012

First, you can't find a better location in Old Town: it is near everything full time residents want and part-time owners demand. Second, it is located on the top floor of an historic building, and it has commanding views of the nearby neighborhood from its 223 sq ft balcony. Third, the building's incredibly beautiful interiors can be customized to a new owner's desires without getting approval from any governmental bureau (the condo association may need to approve, however). Fourth, the building has only eight residential units plus two commercial units (including Key West landmark Timmy Tuxedo) with long term residential ownership. Fifth, the rear side of the building has a wonderful pool and private garden area.

 

The front entry has an electronic keyed entrance. You walk into the entry hall and immediately see the dramatic open three story staircase illuminated by rooftop skylights. The geometry of the place is just awesome. Another stairway at the rear takes you down to the private pool. There is also a coin operated laundry for unit owners that do not have a washer and dryer in their units.

Last year when I wrote about another unit in this building that was for sale I said "this building is located on the gayest block in Key West. Four all male guest houses are located in this block including Equator, Coral Tree Inn, Coconut Grove, and the Oasis Guesthouse. Alexanders and The Island House are located in the 1100 block of Fleming Street and the guys normally pass by 812 Fleming Street once or twice each day. You don't have to be gay to buy in a place like this, but if you are gay, this is surely one hot property!"  Since I wrote that blog the Oasis and Coconut Grove Guesthouses sold and are now "all welcome" as opposed to gay male. The Coral Tree was purchased as well, and I assume it will stay gay male. Alexander's and the Island House are the same as before. I went over to take photos this morning. Two very good looking gay men in very short shorts were standing in front. The gayest street in Key West has not changed, and that is a good thing.

 Unit #6 is offered at $400,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and listing photos.Better than looking at pictures, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to arrange a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

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Simply Stunning! 730 Southard Street - Key West

730 Southard Street - Key West - January 13, 2013

Key West got an early Christmas present in 2012: the beautifully restored Albury House located at 730 Southard Street.  I can't say enough nice things about this home other than it is simply stunning.  It is more beautiful than I imagined it would be. If you follow my blog you will note that I wrote about this house several times when it was listed for sale. Many potential buyers looked at the place. A few even made offers to purchase it.  One lucky couple ended up buying the home and then started the process to find an architect and builder. I took progress photos over the months of construction, a few of which are shown below.

The second floor porch proved to be more of an expensive "fix" than I would have assumed. The original porch worked well for decades but proved to be a real problem during construction. Even though plans were approved in advance, itsy-bitsy items kept dogging the construction to make sure everything was done perfectly.

 

Over the past few years I took other photos, primarily of the William Street side where the kitchen addition connected to the main house. There is a small little garage attached to the kitchen. It's amazing to see how this space changed as well.

The new owners moved into the home Christmas week.  I snapped a couple of photos on Christmas morning and on an evening a couple of days after Christmas. The place is just beautiful. The lines of the architecture are so plain which is maybe why the place is so perfect.

To the owners: Thank You for your gift to Key West.