When Brown County Real Estate owner Danny Key saw that the Allison House had been put on the market, he and his wife Hilary decided to make an offer that very same day.
That was May 24. On May 25, their offer was accepted by Tonya Figg, who had owned it for the past 2 1/2 years.
On July 27, the keys were turned over to the Keys.
They started getting bookings almost immediately for the eight-bed, eight-and-a-half-bath Victorian home, which they’re renting as one large unit for short-term stays.
One of the eight bedrooms is used as a weekday office for management.
Among the seven bedrooms, the house can hold groups of up to 19 people. It’s listed on online booking sites Airbnb and VRBO. Bookings are already being made well into next year.
“The average family schedules for the same time the whole year,” Danny Key said.
With COVID-19 still being a concern, separation is something that travelers seem to appreciate. “People have been really receptive and happy that they’re not mixing with other guests,” he said.
The Allison House was built in 1876 by Alonzo Allison. Allison started the Brown County Democrat newspaper — then called The Jacksonian — and printed it out of this home. In the 1980s, the house became a bed and breakfast.
The Keys plan on blending the history into the house, including facts, documents and more from the building’s beginning.
“It’s funny,” Danny said, “being local and living in town; we’ve seen it a million times.”
He said that the home had been “pretty autonomous,” independent from other businesses and town functions, despite being in the middle of Nashville. The couple is planning to incorporate the community more, using products from a local soap company, coffee roaster and others to sell the Brown County experience to overnight guests.
The “Brown County experience” is something the Keys have been living for awhile. The couple is raising a family in Nashville. Danny has sold real estate since 1997 and opened Brown County Real Estate in 2015, setting up an office on South Jefferson Street earlier this year. Hilary has owned landmark toy store The Toy Chest since 2014. They also had a short-term lease for another Toy Chest in Bloomington at the College Mall.
Despite COVID-19 restrictions and some businesses seeing loss, the Keys have gotten creative and adapted in this time. The Toy Chest closed its doors to shoppers and instead begun doing deliveries locally and to Bloomington and Ellettsville. The store in Nashville now has a walk-up window where shoppers can still buy toys, games and more.
As for real estate, Key said that the industry has tripled in the county. “Thank goodness it’s taken the pressure,” he said. “Inventory is so limited; it’s been a strong seller’s market for about four years.”
Businesses have had to reshape the way things are done in the midst of the pandemic, but Key says they feel “extremely lucky” in opening a place for Brown County visitors to stay in the heart of town.
