Projects of Key West - Not Quite What You Might Expect

The Key West real estate market is in the summer doldrums. Not much is happening. A lot of agents and business owners have left or will be leaving town for a few weeks rest and relaxation before Fantasy Fest hits in October and Season starts around Christmastime. I thought this is a good time to bring readers up to date on some past projects and a couple of new ones.

The house at 617 Grinnell Street is a bit of a rarity in Old Town Key West. Our Historic Architectural Review Commission normally does not allow old houses to be torn down. This place is a rare exception.  The building came down in just a couple of days. The new structure got a roaring start which then came to an abrupt stop. Now the construction is back up and running again.

620 Ashe Street is getting a new lease on life starting with a new foundation. The house was elevated so that new piers and superstructure could be built. The house was lowered onto the new piers'  The old building and new addition will get all  new windows, doors, interiors, etc. 

The house at 410 Simonton Street was in my blog a couple of times during the past few years when it was offered for sale. The place had been carved up into nine apartments by a previous owner. I remember showing the units. I refused to enter one of the apartments which smelled so bad.  But I told buyers this could be one of the sweetest properties once again. And I am confident it will be. A nasty accessory building was removed. Interiors were all removed. Failing piers were replaced. A rickety exterior stairway was taken down.  Slowly, the delicate house of yore is being rebuilt.  I can't wait to see how lovely this place will look when it is completed.

What I like to call the tippie top of Solares Hill is getting a nearly total makeover. A series of old photos followed by recent photos starts with an aerial view of the highest point on in the island of Key West.  I recently found a photo of 700 Elizabeth Street that was taken back in 1986. This house recently had some exterior siding replaced and the entire house was painted. I mention this project because it did not break the bank and the place looks just great. Not all projects need be expensive to be productive. I added a couple of vintage photos I have collected that show this former store and home over the years.

630 Elizabeth Street is located on the corner to the north. At one time it was also a ground level store and had a living space on the second floor. More recently the place was considered a legal duplex by the city. A prior owner had started renovations a couple of years ago and then suspended the project. The new owner restarted renovations last week when a new barricade went up around the property and a shed addition to the rear came down. The shed addition added nothing to the house which is very large. What it did do is take away what a new owner could do with the back of the property.  I have not seen the plans for this house, but hope that the renovation might include a two story rear porch and small pool. 

A couple of months ago the fragments of the house located across the street at 629 Elizabeth were taken down. I say fragments as not much of the original house remained - certainly not much worthy of being saved. The front facade is all that is left of the old house. A new foundation was poured. A new structure is going up day by day.

Memories fade. Old photos help us remember what things "used" to look like. The old walls have only been down a few weeks and the place has a totally different look. The new foundation was built and framing began.

530 Catherine Street is a good example of how quickly and efficiently a place can get renovated when the developer knows exactly what to do and keeps the various trades doing their jobs in a timely manner.

An ugly inefficient building at the rear was taken down. A mid century concrete block addition to the main house was also taken down and was replaced by a new extension that added living space to the home. A pool was added at the rear.

The Post World War II house at 1233 South Street intrigued me and several buyers. This three bedroom home sat on a large and beautifully landscaped corner lot just one block east of the Casa Marina area.  The home was recently purchased. Construction has begun on what will be a complete renovation and addition to this property. Much of the aged landscaping has been removed and new specimen palms planted as a forerunner to work on the home. We shall monitor the progress on this very well located property. Watch for the fake brick facade to be removed along with replacement of correct period windows.

I wrote about 914 Flagler Avenue a couple of times over the years. The original house was built of a man made cement based material similar to concrete block that has natural stone appearance. The house was added onto with concrete block and mid century windows that totally made destroyed the unique look of the original house. The new owner has ripped out the concrete block additions and has started the renovation process.

A block west at 904 Flagler Avenue another mid century home is being transformed into something much larger and totally different from the original little cracker box house that once occupied this lot. I am not sure that I understand the new big box, however.

A more auspicious project is underway a block to the south at 1119 Johnson Street. There a mid century home was razed and a new multi-million dollar home is being built in its place. The lot on which the new home is being built is 7500 sq ft. Essentially, the owner paid $1,300,000 or $692 per sq ft to buy the land on which the new approximate two million home is being built. Keep the price per sq ft in mind when looking at properties for sale in Key West. 

Two blocks to the north a much smaller mid century home at 1128 Von Phister Street was taken down to the ground. A new two story wood frame home will replace the former CBS two bedroom with one bath home. The Von Phister lot is only 4322 sq ft but it sold for $495,000 or $804.88 per sq ft.  That price for the land is higher on a per sq ft basis than just about any active listing in either Old Town or Casa Marina.

Out on the far eastern end of the island a very large house on the Riviera Canal at 3810 Flagler Avenue is getting a total renovation. I showed this house a couple of times when it was offered for sale a few years ago. The water views from the back of the house are incredible. The house itself was dated.  I have only seen and photographed what can be seen from the street. So far I am impressed.

I share these projects with my readers to they can keep up with what is going on down here. I know full well that existing home costs are higher here than just about anywhere in the country. It's greed plain and simple. But once you have a place here, you get to experience what can be a very stress free lifestyle. You can boat, fish, snorkel, go to the gym or yoga studio. You can paint a picture or write the Great American Novel (or blog!). You can be who you want to be and not give a damn what others say because here it really does not matter. So I guess the price of Paradise is worth it. And if you have enough money, you can buy a less than perfect place and fix it up. In some instances you may be able to tear down the old house (or most of it) and build something very charming in its place. 

If you are looking to buy a place in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

616 Eaton Street - A Key West Landmark - SOLD

616 Eaton Street in Old Town Key West may be the most photographed house in town. It sits far back on the lot behind a relic of a rusty iron fence on Eaton Street, a main thoroughfare where Conch Trains, Trolley Cars, taxicabs, bikes, scooters, and pedestrians pass every day. The house looks like it hasn't been painted in decades and sometimes looks like it might even be haunted.

The United Methodist Church (also known as the Old Stone Church) sits to the west. The gracious mansion at 620 Eaton Street sits to the east. Tourists from around the world and locals pass by this old house daily. I doubt there's a person who has said something like "someday somebody is going to buy that old place and fix it up".  That's exactly what happened this week when Frank Kirwin of Preferred Properties Key West sold 616 Eaton Street for $1,850,000 - cash.  Frank reports the new owner is going to restore the old girl and add onto the property at the rear.

I got to show this property several times over the past few years. Frank Kirwin sold the same property a in 2012 to the owner of neighboring property who sliced off part of the rear lot to add onto the other property. A small cottage was added to that parcel. The remaining lot, while a bit smaller, is still huge by Key West standards - 19,018 sq ft.  The irregular shaped lot runs about 267 ft to the south and jots about 86 ft to the west behind the rear of the Old Stone Church. The lot is enormous. And that is part of the attraction of this property. There is nothing else like it.

I first showed showed this house was several years ago when a former owner had a for sale by owner sign post out front. Back then that owner wanted $5.5 million.  The price eventually came down. It sold for much less, $1,700,000, in 2012.  I remember the first time I walked inside the house. I was expecting a mansion. Instead, I entered a Plain Jane room with a sofa sitting in the middle of the room facing an old color television which was turned on. As I recall there was a bare light bulb fixture hanging from the ceiling that illuminated the room. The room at the very front (viewed in the black and white photo above) was a spartan bedroom. The kitchen was at the rear. A bank of 80 windows offered views of the enormous back yard obscured by years of grime.

A child's old playhouse can be seen it the photo above. There is room for a real house, a pool, and maybe a tennis court on this huge lot. Who knows what will be built here. In the meantime, please look at photos I have collected off the internet and some that I took that show how this old house looks before it gets restored. Let's remember the past as we look forward to the future.

1711 Atlantic Boulevard - Key West - Renovate this Mid-Century House or Tear It Down and Build New?

1711 Atlantic Boulevard in Key West offers an interesting opportunity to renovators, flippers, and builders looking for a new project. This architecturally pleasing mid-century home was built in 1958 is different than most Key West mid-century homes built 50s and 60s which are concrete block with stucco finish on slab foundations a tad bit elevated over street grade. There are two additional factors that distinguish this house from others that make this property particularly appealing.

First, the house sits on a large 8050 (70' X 111') square foot lot across from the City of Key West Nature Preserve situated between Beach Club Condominiums to the west and 1800 Atlantic Condominiums to the east. Nothing will ever be built on this stretch of ground - no houses, no condos, no nothing.

Second, the family that built this brought in fill dirt and elevated the site about five feet above Atlantic Avenue as well as neighbors to the west, east, and rear. Rain water drains off this lot and not into it. That's important in the current day when elevations are used in pricing flood insurance. Beyond the cost savings of flood insurance is the opportunity to possibly add a second story above the current house or alternatively build a new house which might get water views of the ocean located on the other side of the mangroves - maybe 300 feet to the south. Click GOOGLE MAP for a view of this home.

The existing house has been added onto over the years. A small building at the rear was expanded as well. That structure abuts property lines and is grandfathered. You could not build that building today, but you would not be required to take it down. According to the Monroe County Property Appraiser this house has 1802 sq ft of living space. However, it looks like a doorway between the main house and the Florida room was removed which expanded the real living area by an additional 288 sq ft. There is another room with 121 sq ft of space to the rear of the garage that provides interior storage. So the actual square footage of usable square feet is much larger than one would see by viewing the public record. (The rear building is not shown on the Property Appraiser site and the square footage of that building is not included in any property valuation.)

If you are like me you have probably watched countless HGTV shows where 1950s homes have been updated and sold or renovated to meet the way we live today. 1711 Atlantic Avenue embodies the spaces, usage, materials, and style different era. Key West has a 50% limitation on spending for renovation of homes. The limitation is related to value of the improvements and not value of land and the structure.  And that is the conundrum - whether to spend money to renovate and bring this fairly large house into the 21st Century, or whether to tear it down and build new. Renovation costs in Key West are very high.  Every penny would count on a renovation of a house like this.

On the other hand, if a new owner would tear down this house and build new, the only limitations would be budget, complying with city building height and density issues, and imagination. I urge potential buyers to CLICK HERE to view more photos of the lot and house and then ponder how you would handle this property. Key West has few opportunities as good as this. This won't be a cheap deal, but it could end up being a fantastic property.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet of 1711 Atlantic Boulevard. Better than looking at pictures on the internet, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a private showing of this property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

Key West Guest House - Price Reduction

The asking price on the Frances Street Bottle Inn in Key West was just reduced to $2,450,000. The listing Realtor describes this eight room guest house this way:

"The Frances Street Bottle Inn is a well established guest house in the heart of old town Key West. The house has been lovingly restored and is a beautiful example of historic Key West architecture. There are eight lovely rooms, seven transient and one non-transient. In addition to the guest rooms there is a spacious lounge/dining room, an office/reception area and a wide porch where guests relax in the mornings and evenings and watch the world go by. Two of the guest room suites have living rooms and all have an outdoor space. Two of the guest rooms have brick patios. The guesthouse is perfectly located in the heart of old town within walking distance to everything."

One of the reasons visitors to Key West stay in guest houses as opposed to hotels is the building itself and the character of the proprietor.  Guests seem to love our old houses that have been transformed into small inns. They often love the people that own the guest houses or who work there. When that happens, those guests tend to return to the same place year after year. Some guests return multiple times during the year.

 I searched the Sanborn Fire Map for 1889 and found what I believe to be the main part of the current building now known as 1011 Southard Street.  I dug into the old shoebox and found a photo taken from the Frances Street side in 1965 with a notation that the building was built in the 1920s.  I think that is when the one story addition was constructed because the 1912 Sanborn Map did not show the addition.

The building's current structure has 2920 sq ft of living area under air conditioning. This does not include any of the deck areas.  The building sits on a 3445 sq ft lot (53' on Frances Street opposite Cafe Sole by 65' on Southard Street). There is no pool but there is space on the east side east side where a new owner might add a pool.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos.  Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this property.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

The Game of Frowns

A couple of days ago a fellow Realtor told me the story of a recent sale where the agent represented both the seller and the buyer in a real estate transaction. The house sold for a whole lotta money.  The seller's attorney had approved all contract documents including an addendum that itemized personal property the seller was leaving in the property including four TVs mounted to the walls. There should have been no surprises at or after closing. But there was. It seems the seller's moving company removed the four television sets and took them far, far away.  When the agent discovered that the TVs were gone, calls to the seller to return the TVs fell on deaf ears. So the agent bought for new TVs to make the buyer happy. The Seller was happy. The Buyer was happy.  The Realtor was a couple of thousand dollars poorer and wore a frown all week long.