Closing Bell: Ready for a 12-Hour Walking Tour?
Tomorrow "The Great 12-Hour, River to River, Vine to Pine, Rain or Shine Tour of Philadelphia" will take place. The free event, hosted by the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides, will cover more than 200 historic sites. It runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and one can join it at any point during the day.
The Great 12-Hour Tour of Philadelphia [Official Site]
Photo by Light Echoes.
Open House Picks
Society Hill
304-6 S. American Street
Prudential
Sunday, 3 p.m.
$639,000
GMAP MLS
Graduate Hospital
2210 Madison Square
Prudential
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
$299,900
GMAP MLS
Mt. Airy
113 E Durham Street
Elfant Wissahickon
Sunday, 1 p.m.
$285,000
GMAP MLS
Fishtown
511 E. Wildey Street
ReMax
Sunday, 11:00 a.m.
$223,500
GMAP MLS
What One Fishtown House Settled For
The blog Casa Cara has an interesting anecdote about how a Fishtown house sold this year for almost $100,000 less that it was listed for in 2006: "I looked at the place myself back in ’06 when I was shopping around for an investment in the area, but it was too expensive for me. The owner was asking 360K at the time, with one rental unit. I ended up buying a smaller, much cheaper place in nearby Old Kensington....Then, when my son and his girlfriend were house-hunting this past winter, hoping to take advantage of the Federal first-time home buyers $8,000 tax credit, the Fishtown house was on the market again (same seller). They got it for nearly 100K less, with a 3% down payment and an interest rate under 5%." Representative of how much property values have declined in Fishtown since 2006, or simply an example of an overpriced house coming down to earth? Perhaps a little of both.
Chip Off the Old Block [Casa Cara]
Food & Drink Round-Up
Khyber Passing to New Owners?
"Real World: Los Angeles" cast mate Glen Naessens and his brother Mike, who owns Eulogy, are in talks to buy the Khyber, according to Dan Gross.
Could Starr be a Game Changer for South Broad?
Foobooz compiles a list of hypotheticals on how Stephen Starr bringing a new restaurant to the Broad Street Diner space might alter the culinary landscape south of Washington, including this one: "We can imagine Dranoff Properties (Symphony House, 777 South Broad) filling in one of the big lots at Broad and Washington with a mixed use development that would of course include a restaurant space."
On Getting Raided by the PLCB
Via Phillyist, a reason.tv segment in which Brendan Hartranft, co-owner of Local 44, Memphis Taproom, and Resurrection Alehouse, talks about getting raided by the PLCB in March.
Pop-Up Starr
Starr Restaurants is rolling out a series of pop-up eateries. First up is a three-night run from Aimee Olexy of Talula's Table at Washington Square restaurant from June 29th through July 1st.
Photo by F.X.Enderby.
Overcoming Obstacles to Rooftop Farming
The Community Design Collaborative has a post on Philadelphia Rooftop Farm, a group of residents—and recipients of a CDC service grant—that have banded together "to explore the possibilities for building organic farms on residential roofs in Philadelphia." A task force advising the group of urban farming advocates noted that a bunch of official barriers, such as zoning issues, stand in the way of rooftop farms. A member of the task force says "roof access and code issues can be solved on an individual basis but, for a long-term solution, the zoning and building code needs to be updated for rooftop farming, like differentiating between roof decks and roof farms." In the meantime, Philadelphia Rooftop Farm is going to build planter prototypes like the ones rendered above.
Inventive Possibilities for Urban Farming [CDC]
Philadelphia Rooftop Farm [Official Site]
Route 15 Work Slated for September
Frankford Avenue is already closed from Girard Avenue to Delaware Avenue, but work laying the alternate trolley tracks for the Route 15 Trolly Turnback Loop won't begin until after Labor Day, a SEPTA representative told a Fishtown Neighbors Association meeting. The work, which is intended to create a turnaround point for trolleys during the two years when the Girard Avenue bridge is under construction as part of the project to upgrade I-95, will take three months to complete. Contrary to rumors, the project is not intended to offer trolley service to the Sugarhouse Casino on Delaware Avenue—though SEPTA isn't ruling adding such a service out. Buses will run Route 15 passengers along Thompson and Belgrade streets, as pictured above, until the highway work is complete in 2013. That means those corner parking spaces Fishtowners so love will be a thing of the past! GMAP
Screens for French Doors to Garden?
Hello. we have big french doors that open out from our kitchen onto our garden: very nice. but if I leave them open while cooking, I am eaten by mosquitoes within minutes. Is there any way to have screens put on the inside of the french doors? If so, what kind of person/company would do this? Thank you.
Diamond Street Attracts Landlords
This month, Brownstoner Philadelphia is examining the Diamond Street Historic District in a couple of posts every week. Here's the latest... A search on the MLS turns up only one property for sale in the Diamond Street Historic District right now, 1923 W Diamond Street. The property is divided into three units and is listed for $390,000. (It's also one of the five remaining houses in the historically significant row of 10 that Willis G. Hale designed on the street.) According to Shauli David, the real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Preferred who listed 1923, the vast majority of properties sold on Diamond Street between 20th and Broad—a span that just about makes up the historic district in its entirety—are marketed to investors looking to rent units out to Temple students. David says he thinks that's been the case for at least five years, and that he's never come across a buyer who wanted to purchase a Diamond Street house for personal use. David says that the three units at 1923 are expected to bring in $4,000 in rent a month when fully occupied.
Previous HD coverage:
Decay in the Diamond Street Historic District [Brownstoner]
Diamond St's French Gothic Revival Masterpiece [Brownstoner]
The Houses of Diamond Street [Brownstoner]
Diamond Street: City's 2nd Historic District [Brownstoner]
Part of Delaware River Trail Now Officially Open
Just over three weeks ago, a small, one-mile-long section of the Delaware River Trail officially opened for business in South Philly, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it. The mixed-use trail, perfect for walking, biking or jogging, kicks off just behind the Wal-Mart on Columbus Boulevard and then continues on through a surprisingly peaceful and quiet patch of the neighborhood, where the only sounds to be heard are the lapping of the Delaware and the chirping of birds. (This is also the planned future site of the Foxwoods Casino, so get a taste of the peace and quiet here while you still can!) The path eventually re-emerges at the busy intersection of Washington and Columbus before heading north towards the city, where it’s possible to hook up with copious other bike lanes. Plans are already well under way for the waterfront trail to eventually stretch along for seven miles. In the meantime, check out PlanPhilly’s recent coverage of the trail, which includes still photos and video. GMAP
Saffron Pans Granary Proposal
Today Inga Saffron trains her eye on the ambitious redevelopment plans for the Granary on 20th and Callowhill, making the case that "the idea of crowning this kingly industrial building with a common residential cap is as wrongheaded as it is irresistible." Saffron doesn't take issue with the project's proposed height and calls the planned 12-story addition and green trappings an exciting "architectural thought experiment." Instead, the Inquirer critic says the redevelopment would overshadow the former grain elevator's current physical presence, therefore denuding its historical significance and robbing the city of a memento of its industrial past. Saffron also says that since the top and bottom of the Granary were used as commercial and residential space in the past, there's no reason that this shouldn't be so in the future, even though the spaces are currently unoccupied and such uses mean leaving the vast mid-section of the building unused. Finally, Saffron notes that there are a number of other available parcels in the vicinity that could be redeveloped. While we agree with this last point, we're squarely in the "wrongheaded" camp that can't resist the Granary redevelopment plans. We see the addition as an opportunity for forward-thinking architecture combined with large-scale residential development—a class of development that Philadelphia appears to have largely avoided during the boom years. To our eyes, the proposal, at least as rendered, enhances the current building in terms of practicality and aesthetics while not robbing the landscape of an industrial relic. Just our $.02, though! What do you think of the plans and Saffron's points?
Changing Skyline: Bad Plan for a City Landmark [Inquirer]
Granary Redevelopment Plans REVEALED [Brownstoner]
Rendering on right from the Inquirer.
Friday Links
Renaming Rights of Pattison Station Go to AT&T;, Pending SEPTA OK [Daily News]
City Council Breaks for Summer After Eventful Session [Daily News]
Average U.S. House Size Shrank in 2009 [Inquirer]
Water Main Breaks, Becomes a Geyser in N.E. [Inquirer]
Schools Close, Pools Open [Inquirer]
Fishtown Residents Get Project Updates [Plan Philly]
Council OKs Conference Bikes [Bike Coalition]
Photo by Michael Adamek.
Closing Bell: Fairmount Bicycles Now Open
In a nice, quick retail-space turnaround, Fairmount Bicycles opened this past weekend. The store, at the corner of Fairmount and Capitol (which, as a commenter on our previous post noted, is technically in Francisville), will sell, service and rent bikes. Pretty cool!
Fairmount to Get Some Pedal Power [Brownstoner] GMAP
Brownstoner Philly seeks a freelance writer to contribute 2-3 posts to a week on store and restaurant openings, preservation and development issues, and the odd bike lane or street mural addition. Basic requirements: Intense interest in your surroundings, reliability, and a digital camera. The pay won't make you rich but if you're the kind of person who always has his/her antenna up, it shouldn't be a lot of work either! Preference given to writers with residence and/or deep knowledge of West Philadelphia. Interested? Send an email to gabby@brownstoner.com.
This Seems Like a No-Duh Proposition
"It's too easy to steal a house in Philadelphia, two City Council members say, so they plan to introduce legislation on Thursday that would require the city to check documents more carefully in property transfers...The legislation would require city Records Department employees to verify that the person transferring a property deed is the actual owner." - Inquirer
