But after five years, the lure of being close to children and grandchildren, many of which remained in St. Louis, was too strong, and the Montgomerys decided to return in September 2021. While the Florida residence sold the first hour it was listed, the problem was the real estate market in St. Louis was also booming. Homes were being overbid and selling so quickly it made it difficult to stay on top of the local market from Florida.

“One night at 3 a.m. in Florida I discovered this split-level house on Zillow in Wildwood that — contrary to the hot market — had been listed for 30 days because it needed renovation,” Bruce recalls. “A Realtor took us on a walk-through tour on Zoom, and having had experience renovating several homes we immediately recognized the potential and purchased it!”

Then the continuing pandemic caused a hiccup in their plans. Their chosen contractor of Callier and Thompson informed them a shortage of construction supplies would delay the makeover for a year.

“Heather Schwartz at Callier was phenomenal to work with,” Bruce recalls. “The only direction we gave her was that we wanted open space, clean lines and lots of natural light.”

“We like an uncluttered, contemporary look and agree on what we like quickly when we see it,” Lori says. “Heather had a plan in our hands in a matter of a few weeks.”

The great room, kitchen and primary bath were stripped to the studs, and the flooring was removed to the subfloor, and after five months a new house took shape inside the old exterior.

A standard solid-front door with sidelights and an overhead transom was replaced by two 9-foot frosted glass doors, creating a gracious, contemporary entry allowing new light into the great room.

Walls in the kitchen were removed to allow space for a 12-foot-by-4-foot quartz island with peninsula seating on three sides at one end.

The kitchen and dining room in the split-level home had always been open to the family room below, but a white metal pipe railing resembling a three-tiered fence had separated the elevated level. Now a contemporary cable wire railing defines the space, which transforms the safety railing into what one might expect to be seen in a New York City loft.

“Before, there was a large gap on the bottom the pipe railing,” Bruce recalls. “One of our dogs had their bed next to the railing, and once when he jumped onto the bed it scooted over the edge and he fell five feet. We got the railing replaced as soon as we could.”

The master bath was gutted and finished with dark blue cabinets with a high-gloss enamel-type glaze, and a large tiled 7-foot-by-5-foot foot walk-in shower was added.

Before the renovation began on the primary bath, what appeared to have been a do-it-your-self European steam shower began leaking behind the wall. Unable to find a shut-off valve, Bruce and Lori grabbed a small saw, cut through the wall, and discovered the shut-off valve had been sealed behind the wall. “That was really a mess,” Lori says.

In the private backyard a few trees were removed to allow in morning light, and a new concrete patio was laid. Next to the patio two raised garden beds feature arched chicken wire to protect the crops from deer and rabbits, which frequent the yard.

Even the spacious tandem garage, which can accommodate four cars, was not spared a redo. New garage doors were installed, and the floor was covered with a durable, damage-resistant garage floor coating that resembles a new-car showroom. Cabinets were added to eliminate typical garage clutter.

One large project remains. The primary bedroom closet abuts to a fourth bedroom occupied at night by the couple’s three dogs, whose nighttime privacy will soon disappear. The room is destined to become a large walk-in closet, which will also free up three more feet of floor space in the bedroom.

The love of family, and the reason for the return to St. Louis, is evident in an abundance of family photos displayed in a great room shelf, and in a compartmentalized shadow box where each child and grandchild has their photo displayed within its own frame. Inside one box is a sign reading “September, 2023,” announcing the upcoming birth of the sixth grandchild.

There is yet another reason Bruce and Lori were fortunate to find their Wildwood home. Soon after they sold their condominium in Fort Meyers Beach and returned to St. Louis, the bottom three floors of that building sustained heavy water damage during Hurricane Ian in 2022. Today the building and uninhabitable.

Bruce and Lori Montgomery

Ages • He is 69, and she is 62.

Occupations • Lori retired seven years ago from Mastercard where she had worked in worldwide procurement and logistics for 23 years. Bruce retired 20 years ago from a career in technology working for Market Development Corporation for 28 years, and then as an IT consultant.

Family • Married 20 years, she has a son and Bruce has three boys. Five grandchildren range from 14 to 18 years. Also part of the family are rescue litter sisters Lexi and Flo, Schnauzer and Chihuahua mixes, and Charlie, a 14-year-old light tan dachshund.