Key West Real Estate Sales

Today in Key West History

Friday, September 10, 2010

20 YEARS AGO

 Lower Keys Health System consolidated Emergency Care Services at the Florida Keys Hospital on Stock Island. The Emergency Care at the former dePoo Hospital on Kennedy Drive was discontinued.

 Police had a busy night at the Peek-A-Boo Lounge on Southard Street after several fights broke out in the early morning hours.

 Directors of the United Way of Key West kicked off the annual campaign and hoped to meet the goal of $500,000.

 50 YEARS AGO

 Hurricane Donna hit on Friday night and Saturday, spreading destruction from Marathon all along the Keys. Hurricane winds of 150 to 170 mph were reported on Conch Key. Key West was spared any major damage, with winds of only 70 mph reported.

 Key West was cut off from the rest of the world with telephone and telegraph communication out, the airport closed and the road closed with no mail arriving.

 A Civil Defense convoy under the direction of Sheriff John Spottswood departed for Marathon with supplies and equipment for cleanup.

 100 YEARS AGO

 The Key West mayor called for a special election to pass a $60,000 bond to buy oceanfront land at the end of Reynolds Street for use as a park. The land was owned by Mr. Gato, who had promised to use the money to build an immense cigar factory at the end of Simonton Street.

New idea for 6.6 acres

New idea for 6.6 acres

BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com

A local nonprofit presented Bahama Village residents with a bold and green plan for 6.6 acres at Truman Waterfront Thursday night that organizers say could revitalize the community. 

The estimated $30 million project calls for the development of the 6.6 acres coveted by the now defunct Bahama Conch Community Land Trust.

The idea was presented by resident Jedde Regante at the monthly District 6 neighborhood meeting, which usually features police issues. 

Regante, a local lawyer, business owner and green technology consultant, created the Southernmost Sustainable Community Development Corp. to offer a proposal for a plaza, community center and sports complex based on what Bahama Village residents have said they wanted for the 6.6 acres.

 "The present plan we felt came from within this community," Regante said. "This is what you told us you wanted."

 And Regante wants to build it all with green technology by way of state and federal environmental grants, erasing or minimizing the city's financial burden -- a point that would need to be hammered out by city leaders should the project blossom.

 "We would like to see the city put out a request for proposal for whatever they decide to do with the property," Regante said. "I believe our project will win because the ideas came from the community."

 Key West City Manager Jim Scholl was supportive of the pitch, but cautious in his assessment.

 "This is a good concept of what could be done," Scholl said. "The [Truman Waterfront Advisory] board is interested, but it's important to remember that we have to get into the details of what this green technology has to offer and weigh that against proven technology when we get into costs."

 City Commissioner Clayton Lopez, whose district includes Bahama Village, said things are preliminary, but that residents should have the loudest input into whatever happens to the 6.6 acres.

 "At this point, my biggest concern is making sure that these plans get to the people and they have an opportunity to weigh in," Lopez said.

 Olivia Street resident Erika Biddle was sold.

 "This is absolutely fabulous," Biddle said after the meeting. "It's exactly what we need for the waterfront -- this kind of vision. ... This is charming and it really integrates our community."

 Whitehead Street resident and substance abuse counselor Edie Hambright was also impressed that the proposal offered green space and environmental technologies.

 "My partner and I are old girls; we need the shade," Hambright said with a laugh. "But I really liked that they listened to this community and that they want to celebrate that. It looks like something we can be very proud of."

 Regante's proposal also includes a new boxing gym and horse stables for the Key West Police Department, a large open space leading to the community center that would serve as the western "anchor" of Petronia Street.

 It would be done in traditional Key West architecture that mirrors the history of Bahama Village, Regante said.

 There would be bocce and horse shoe pits, thousands of square feet of community garden space, a gymnastics area in the new gym, a day-care center and a full-size athletic field.

 The 6.6 acres is separate from the 25 or so acres at the Truman Waterfront that the Meisel Spottswood developers are proposing to develop.

 

Today in Key West History

Stores at Duval Street and Truman Avenue boarded-up for a hurricane.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

20 YEARS AGO

Ann McDonald was elected president of the Florida Keys Dental Hygienists Society. The other officers were: Marilyn Miguel, treasurer; Karen Erbella, vice president; and Janice Ketching, secretary.

The Coast Guard cutter Shearwater was one of three Surface Effect Ships homeported in Key West with primary missions of maritime law enforcement, search and rescue and marine environmental protection.

Winfred Ouinquinio was installed as president of the Philippine Friendship Society at the induction ball.

50 YEARS AGO

Key West was boarded up and people in the Florida Keys were evacuating as Hurricane Donna approached. The manager of the Casa Marina hotel reported he had only a few rooms left in the main building and was converting the staff quarters for use.

Out-of-town newsmen were arriving with their cameras and transmitting equipment to report the damage that would be caused by Hurricane Donna.

Gerald Knowles left to attend St. Augustine's Minor Seminary of the Fathers of the Divine Word in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Dr. Stephen E. Henderson, professor of English at Virginia Union University, was visiting his sister. He had graduated from Douglass High School as valedictorian in the class of 1943.

100 YEARS AGO

Lt. J.S. Dueenbury was relieved as quartermaster of the Army Barracks by Lt. Walter P. Boatwright.

The steamer Mildred, with Capt. Armeda at the helm, arrived from Fort Myers.

Compliments of the Key West Citizen

Nursing home to hire 100 employees

Nursing home to hire 100 employees

BY JOHN L. GUERRA Citizen Staff
jguerra@keysnews.com

About 100 jobs soon will be available at the almost-complete Key West Health and Rehabilitation Center on College Road.

To that end, Senior Care Group LLC, operators of the nursing home, will hold a job fair at Florida Keys Community College on Friday and Saturday to describe the jobs and requirements, collect resumes and speak with applicants, said Human Resources Director Kevin Goyer.

"We will slowly add staff as we admit more residents," Goyer said. "We'll need registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, speech therapists, and other professional health staff."

Senior Care, he said, also will accept resumes for: dieticians, a marketing liaison, occupational therapists, admissions coordinator, business office manager, laundry and maintenance and administrative support staff.

Applicants won't be told at the fair whether they have secured a job, Goyer said. The company will keep the applications on file and contact qualified applicants for a second interview as positions become available.

"As the resident population increases, we'll add to the startup staff, to hit a level of about 100 employees," he said.

The new center, built from the failure of the former Key West Nursing Home that closed suddenly two years ago Thanksgiving, will staff three shifts to provide care and services around the clock, Goyer said.

The facility, which is still being renovated inside out into a new building with 120 beds, will be a combination physical rehabilitation center/nursing home for those recovering from serious surgery as well as elderly and infirm residents.

Until it opens, the Lower Keys does not have such a facility.

The facility is scheduled to open with a single "test" patient in November. It will be an actual patient, and the Agency for Health Care Administration will watch as that patient is treated to ensure the facility follows all rules, including paperwork, minimum nursing attention and other requirements.

If the health agency determines that patient is cared for properly, it will give the green light to admit other patients.

Employees of the former nursing home were let go with little notice and had trouble getting their final paychecks when the facility closed in November 2007, former employees told The Citizen at the time.

The facility had about 100 beds and employed 120 people.

Some nursing and administrative employees found jobs at Plantation Key Nursing Home, but that facility also subsequently shut down earlier this year.

Gold bar stolen from Mel Fisher Museum

Gold bar stolen from Mel Fisher Museum

BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com

Someone actually lifted the famous gold bar Wednesday evening from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum.

The 5-pound bar, from the 15th century Spanish galleon the Nuestra Señora de Atocha that Fisher and his crew found off Key West in 1985, was stolen from its secure Plexiglas enclosure about 5:13 p.m., Key West police said.

Security cameras captured images of two people breaking into the case and taking the bar from what museum director Melissa Kendrick called one of Fisher's favorite exhibits, because it allowed visitors to hold the same treasure -- to "lift the gold bar" -- found by his team.

One suspect was described as a white male about 6 feet tall, with dark hair and a medium build. The second suspect is about 5 foot 6 inches tall, reports say, and could be a woman or a man. Detectives were still working on identifying the suspects as of press time Thursday.

According to a police report, a security guard told a museum visitor to "make sure to touch the gold bar," but when the visitor arrived at the exhibit, the bar was gone. The woman reportedly did not see anyone take the bar or acting suspiciously.

Detectives declined to say how they think the suspects broke into the exhibit, said police spokeswoman Alyson Crean. The FBI is working with Key West police, Crean said. The federal agency also investigates art and jewelry/gem theft, according to http://www.fbi.gov/hq.htm.

Kendrick declined to speculate on the bar's worth, noting such treasure has an "antiquity value" on top of the actual gold value. A 5-pound solid gold bar would be worth about $98,800 in today's market, according to gold prices posted Thursday afternoon at http://www.thestreet.com, a financial news website.

The museum is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the 5-pound bar's intact return, she said.

"This has never happened since we've been here," Kendrick said, referring to the museum's location at 200 Greene St.

In the 1970s, a group stole a silver bar that weighed about 70 pounds from Fisher, but that was before the current museum with its security measures were in place, Kendrick said. It was never recovered.

Former Mel Fisher diver Don Kincaid, who helped recover many artifacts in the early 1980s, was staggered to hear of Wednesday's theft.

"To my knowledge, something like this has never happened before," Kincaid said. "The design of the case that bar was in has thus far been completely successful. The ability to touch that bar was the most common compliment we would get from visitors. It's one of only a few museums where you can touch history."

Detectives ask anyone with information to call 305-809-1015 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-346-8477.

Today in Key West History

Compliments of the Key West Citizen Newspaper

Today in History

 

Captain Tony Tarrinco, center, and his catch of May 11, 1960.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

20 YEARS AGO

The U.S. Marshal's Office raided 16 Key West T-Shirt shops and seized thousands of counterfeit sailboat clothing decals and hundreds of clothing articles.

Monroe County Sheriff Allison DeFoor agreed to supply two deputies for foot patrol in Bahama Village.

The Monroe County Planning Commission got a look at the developing Comprehensive Land Use Plan and said it was happy with the progress.

A shoplifter got more than he bargained for when a woman employee of Big Daddy's Liquor Store sat on him to prevent his escape.

50 YEARS AGO

Monroe County Commissioner Clarence Higgs reported that someone had taken 350 aluminum bolts from the new White Street Pier.

The Florida chapter of the International Association of Electrical Inspectors had chosen Key West as the site for its 1961 meeting.

Members of the Retail Merchant Division of the Chamber of Commerce announced its summer schedule of closings on Thursday afternoons.

Porter artifacts find a new home

Compliments of the Key West Citizen Newspaper

Porter artifacts find a new home

Campbell donation added to Customs House collection

BY MANDY MILES Citizen Staff

The pending sale of the Heritage House Museum on Caroline Street has led to the dissemination of hundreds of documents, paintings, photographs and other artifacts that allow Key West historians to draw a clearer picture of the Southernmost City.

To Suzanne Campbell, much of that history is personal.

Campbell's family has lived in Key West since the early 1900s. Her grandmother, Jessie Porter, lived in the building that is now the Heritage House Museum. Porter collected thousands of Key West artifacts and saved many of the items that belonged to her grandfather, Joseph Yates Porter, who built the legendary Porter Mansion at the corner of Caroline and Duval streets.

J.Y. Porter, a physician, was Florida's first medical officer. The Key West native practiced medicine from a home office on Caroline Street.

Campbell is donating many of her great-great-grandfather's medical and personal items to the Key West Museum of Art and History at the Custom House. In addition to the Porter items, Campbell also is donating her grandmother's collection of Key West artwork that was created during the Great Depression to bring the first wave of tourists to the island.

"The collection includes original watercolors and etchings that Ms. Jessie Porter collected in the 1930s, when they were brand new," said Norman Aberle, curator of the museum at the Custom House.

He plans to install the paintings within the museum's ongoing Ernest Hemingway exhibit.

"They will help give greater insight into what Hemingway found so fascinating about Key West, because they depict the Key West of the 1930s, when Hemingway spent the most time here," Aberle said.

The Porter items include a wooden writing tray that is still assembled with an inkwell, handle for carrying it without spilling and small drawers for pens, paper, stamps and wax seals. Campbell also found her famous ancestor's spectacles and a worn leather memo book and medical bag.

"I think my grandmother kept stuff because she worried it would be lost or stolen or destroyed," Campbell said. "But now we're happy that various groups and organizations are getting things that fill in the gaps of their Key West histories."

She has donated reams of documents to the Monroe County Public Library's Key West branch, relieved that they eventually will be scanned, digitized and available for viewing on the Internet.

"Now I don't have to worry about them being destroyed in a hurricane," she said. "And everyone can see them online."

The building that housed the Heritage House Museum was built in 1939, and was the home of Jessie Porter, who is considered by many the grande dame of historic preservation in Key West.

Peter Brawn bought the house and is expected to close on the property on Thursday. He plans to live in it when he is in town, Campbell said. Brawn also has bought much of the antique furniture that will remain in the home, but Campbell said she did not know whether Brawn plans to sell it or keep it.

FHA Tightening Standards

Washington Report: FHA Tightening Standards

By Kenneth R. Harney

January 25, 2010

FHA is tightening up its standards for home buyers - but the changes are not as tough as some analysts had feared - especially on downpayments.

FHA commissioner David Stevens outlined the agency's new underwriting policies last week, including an increase in the "upfront" mortgage insurance premium charged all borrowers, and a decrease in the amount of financial inducements a home seller can provide a buyer.

The tightening of the rules come in the wake of findings by an independent auditor last Fall that FHA's insurance fund capital reserves have fallen far below the congressionally-required minimums.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan promised in response that FHA would take steps early this year to begin building up its reserves with higher premium revenues and ratchet up its credit standards for some borrowers.

Under the new plan, which will take effect shortly, FHA applicants will be charged a higher entry fee on insurance: An upfront premium of two and a quarter percent (2.25%) of the loan amount, instead of the current one and three quarters (1.75%)percent premium.

On a $200,000 home purchase with a $193,000 loan amount, the new premium will add about $965 to an FHA borrower's costs.

There will be no immediate increase to FHA's current annual insurance premiums of zero point fifty five percent (0.55). But Stevens said the agency plans to ask Congress for a higher limit on annual premiums, which get tacked onto borrowers' monthly mortgage bills.

Once FHA gets Congress's okay, Stevens said he expects to boost the annual premiums and reduce the upfront premiums. That, in turn, will lower the cash borrowers need to bring to the table, and stretch out the higher premium charges over multiple years.

Stevens also announced that applicants with FICO credit scores below 580 will now have to make downpayments of at least 10 percent, up from three and a half percent currently.

That change shouldn't have much of an impact, however, since most of the largest lenders offering FHA mortgages already require a minimum credit score of 620 for all applicants.

Now for the good news on downpayments: Though mortgage industry analysts had expected FHA to raise its minimum cash down requirement to five percent, Stevens said 3.5 percent will remain the standard.

On the other hand, Stevens also announced that the agency is lowering its "seller concessions" ceiling from six percent to three percent, effective immediately. Concessions include contributions at settlement from the seller to the buyer to help cover loan fees and closing costs. Critics say the concessions often get lumped onto the house price -- thereby raising FHA's loss exposure.

Copyright © 2010 Realty Times. All Rights Reserved.

Florida's Existing Home Sales Rose in December 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. - Jan. 25, 2010 - Florida's existing home sales rose in December, marking 16 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

Existing home sales rose 33 percent last month with a total of 14,630 homes sold statewide compared to 1 1,013 homes sold in December 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.3 percent over statewide sales activity in November.

Florida Realtors also reported a 91 percent increase in statewide sales of existing condos in December compared to the previous year's sales figure; statewide existin g condo sales last month rose 22 percent over the total units sold in November.

Seventeen of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales and higher condo sales in December. A majority of the state's MSAs have reported increased sales for 18 consecutive months.

Florida's median sales price for existing homes last month was $140,400; a year ago, it was $155,300 for a 10 percent decrease. Housing industry analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to tra ditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. 

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in November 2009 was $171,900, down 4.4 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. In California, the statewide median resales price was $304,520 in November; in Massachusetts, it was $285,000; in Maryland, it was $245,569; and in New York, it was $210,000.

According to NAR's latest outlook, home sales are seeing a boost from the federal homebuyer tax credit. "There are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Activity should ramp up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010. In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires, and balance should be restored to the housing sector with inventories continuing to decline."

In Florida's year-to-year comparison for condos, 5,968 units sold statewide last month compared to 3,132 units in December 2008 for an increase of 91 percent. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $107,000; in December 2008 it was $130,300 for an 18 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $178,000 in November 2009, according to NAR.

Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.93 percent last month, significantly lower than the average rate of 5.29 percent in December 2008, according to Freddie Mac. Florida Realtors' sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written. 

Among the state's larger markets, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton MSA reported a total of 849 homes sold in December compared to 638 homes a year earlier for a 33 percent increase. The market's existing home median sales price last month was $247,900; a year ago it was $246,000 for an increase of 1 percent. A total of 763 condos sold in the MSA in December, up 45 percent over the 527 units sold in December 2008. The existing condo median price last month was $111,400; a year earlier, it was $112,900 for a decrease of 1 percent.

Related: Dec. existing-home sales down, prices rise; 2009 sales up, says NAR

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

Best Sunset in Florida is in Key West...Come Visit...Never Leave

Compliments of Southern Living Magazine.

Photo by Jennifer Davick  

Best Sunset in Florida

Here in Key West, at the southernmost point in the U.S., folks make quite a fuss over sunsets. They even built a stage of sorts―Mallory Square―where, at the water’s edge, musicians, escape artists, jugglers, magicians, and other street performers warm up the throngs of tourists who flock here for this daily and oftentimes cheeky going-away party for the sun. It’s such a sacred event, the city even passed an ordinance requiring cruise ships to leave port before sunset to ensure the view isn’t blocked.

For many, witnessing a sunset from Mallory Square is a bucket-list item, akin to seeing fireworks over the Washington, D.C., Mall or the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. Only in Key West, a place made famous by its anything-goes attitude, do folks offer a reverent good-bye so irreverently, and then get the chance to do it all over again the very next day. sunsetcelebration.org