1666 Hillview Street

Description

For the creative investor with a love of Old Florida, an appreciation for architecture and the fine arts, and a brilliant entrepeneurial spirit, this property holds unlimited potential. Nestled under whispering bamboo, this .42 acre estate includes the main residence, a garage, and an art studio. The house was designed in 1939 by celebrated painters Dorothy and Hilton Leech, who came to Sarasota to help organize the Ringling School of Art, and then curated by Frank Colson, an internationally recognized ceramicist and sculptor. The studio began as a WWII army barracks and was moved to the site in 1947 to house the Amagansett Art School. Behind the privacy of oaks and pines, an expansive living area which opens with a receding wall of glass to a the lanai and screened in atrium. A wall of brick holds two wood burning fireplaces, one interior, one exterior. There are 2 bedrooms on the first floor, one with a private screened porch. A wooden staircase leads to the 3rd bedroom, full bath, and small sitting room which opens via shutters to the natural light of the room below. The studio has plumbing and electrical for a bathroom and kitchen and could be rehabilitated to any number of creative uses and the work should qualify for the Federal Tax Credit. The garage is currently used for storage, with a separate laundry room. Built of Florida cypress, all three structures are locally and nationally designated, qualifying them for a number of incentives (see attachments) to facilitate stewarding this exceptional piece of history into the future. The shingle roof was replaced in Jan 2020. Walk to Mortons Market, lunch at Libbys, or a morning cup at Perq.