Cudjoe Gardens is on Cudjoe Key but is very different than the rest of Cudjoe Key. Cudjoe Gardens is on the Atlantic side with larger houses, larger lots, deeper and wider canals, and the homes, in general, are much more expensive than the rest of Cudjoe Key. On the very low end, the houses in Cudjoe Gardens will start around $800,000 with most of them being well over $1,000,000 and going up as high as over $3,000,000. Most of the houses in Cudjoe Gardens are retirees, second homes, or corporate-owned. There are very few working, year-round people who own a home on Cudjoe Gardens.
One thing you will notice that is unique to Cudjoe Gardens is most of the homes are ground level whereas most of them in the rest of the Lower Keys are on stilts. This is because the land itself is filled in making the lots higher above sea level. The reason for the stilt houses is that any house built after 1975 is required by Monroe County Law to be a minimum of 8 feet above sea level, hence the stilt houses. The Developer of Cudjoe Gardens, A man named Dr. Drost filled the land high enough that the houses could be ground level but still meet the 8 feet above sea level law. This is one feature that makes Cudjoe Gardens more desirable to retirees. Cudjoe Gardens also has a Sheriff’s Substation right at the entrance which gives a good feeling of added security. Especially for those who only use their home in the winter and it sits empty for 6 to 8 months a year.
