Downtown's Frances Carlton Apartments

I’ve always loved the Frances Carlton Apartments, that extremely cute old building downtown next to Florida Studio Theatre.  But I felt they were very overpriced. Well, no longer. The ones currently for sale seems like pretty good deals.

The apartments are laid out like a railroad flat.

These apartments are small. Less than 700 square feet. You get four small rooms, one after another, like  a railroad flat. The atmosphere of the building reminds me of a New York City tenement—no elevator, many rooms look out onto airshaft-like courtyards, and the doors, hardware, and hallways all clearly date from the 1920s. But it’s all very clean, neat and charming. There’s a pool, assigned parking, and a perfect location.

A sunroom in one of the apartments.

What raises the building out of the ordinary are the sunrooms. Each apartment has one; they have arched windows on three sides and overlook the streetlife. You can watch the crowd gather in front of the theater next door and wave to friends. If you work at home, these sunrooms make the perfect office.

As far as I can figure out, there are three for sale at the moment, priced at $155,000, $199,000, and $224,000. Go to Trulia or Realtor.com and search 1221 Palm Ave, Sarasota, for more pictures and information.