April Housing Market Snapshot, Philadelphia County

Sales are down about 17% over April Last year, but April last year was the last month of the home buyer tax credit.  April 2010 sales were up 17% over 2009, so it seems last year was a bit of an outlier and volume is at 2009 levels for April.

 Monthly Statistics for the Date Range Selected (TREND MLS)

Date	Units Listed	Listed Volume	Listed Average	Pended	Units Sold	Sold Average	Average DOM
Apr 2011	2266	512,739,712	226,275	928	858	169,179	95
Totals:	2266	512,739,712	226,275	928	858	169,179	95

Pricing Details of Sold Units for the Date Range Selected

Minimum Prices	Maximum Prices	Average Prices
Original List Price : $2,100	Original List Price: $2,750,000	Original List Price: $188,215
Sold Price : $1,900	Sold Price: $1,700,000	Sold Price: $169,179

Graduate Hospital Filling Out

Naked Philly seems to have filled the void left by Brownstoner and their recent sleuthing has uncovered a series of Graduate Hospital Development projects.
2305 Carpenter

Photo: nakedphilly.com
Permits have been applied for and two semidetached three story homes with roof decks are in the works.
763 S. 19th

photo: nakedphilly.com
This vacant lot was recently purchased for $800,000 and plans are to build ten row homes with parking.
20th and Fitzwater

photo: nakedphilly.com
If you are a fellow grad hospital resident, you may have noticed the massive hole dug in this spot in recent weeks.  I was beginning to think a parking garage was being built.  It turns out it was just the basements for the new row homes to be built.  The plans seem to resemble those of the artisan town homes around 16th and Bainbridge.
2522 and 2524 Grays Ferry

photo:trend
More approx 2500 Square foot homes with garages.  With garage these homes are priced at $425,000.  $400,000 without garage.  
19th and Carpenter
In the last two weeks framing has gone up for two new row houses with the ever present boxed bays.

Queen's Walk: a New Townhouse Development at 5th and Montrose

nakedphilly.com

Naked Philly has pictures of a new 16 unit development in the works on the edge of Queen Village and Bella Vista.  Apparently the plans are for 2200 to 2600 square foot 3 bedrooms.  Too bad these aren't in the Meredith Catchment!

Subway to Navy Yard

navyyard.org

Philadelphia's 2035 plan apparently calls for the subway to run to the Navy Yard.  Even though the plan is 25 years off, According to Plan Philly, the SEPTA director says it is not going to happen unless there is residential development.  Apparently the 1.5 mile extension would cost between 500 and 800 million.  If money isn't an issue, I would really like to focus on a subway line outside of the current frustrating perpendicular model.

Northern Liberties Grocery Store Drama

photo: philly.com

A beautiful new building has been built on the border of popular Northern Liberties and Fishtown now it just needs businesses to fill it.  This prime real estate shouldn't be difficult to fill but the parent company of the building's flagship occupant is in bankruptcy and now the much anticipated grocery space is sitting empty.  Developer Bart Blatstein has moved to force Path Mark to act on or turn down the lease.  Rumors are about that Blatstein already has plans with a popular grocer to open a location in the space this summer.  According to today's Philadelphia Inquirer article, Blatstein has been unable to lease the other spaces in the development without the main space being occupied.  I know many area residents are anxiously anticipating the resolution of this issue and hopefully they are one step closer to getting their grocer.

Paris Street Fair on Broad

On April 30th the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts is turning Broad Street (between Chestnut and Lombard) into a Parisian Street Fair complete with ferris wheel and a park (with grass!).  The celebration concludes the International Arts Festival which began April 7th.  The Fair will begin at 11 A.M. on April 30th and will conclude at 8:00.  Some bloggers have received the street fair negatively, but I can't help but be excited about it.  Details at PIFA.org

Arch Street United Methodist Church to Get New Neighbor

Photo: PlanPhilly

According to Plan Philly, a developer has gotten City Council's approval to build a parking garage/retail space next to the Arch Street United Methodist Church at Juniper and Arch.  The next hurdle for the developers is to get the building permit which is contingent on approval of their plans for the building.  Apparently there was concern that a huge parking garage wasn't the best use of that much prominent city land, but plans to develop the nearby Liberty Title Building seemed to sweeten the deal enough for City Council.

Philadelphia Weekly publishes Philly's Top 50 Bars

photo:beeradvocate.com

Apparently Philadelphia Weekly has done the thankless job of trying out dozens of Philly's bars in order to compile its list of the best 50.  The job didn't fall on only one liver.  A team of contributers worked on the story.  The result is a fairly comprehensive list of a variety of establishments.  The only real diversity that seems to be lacking is location.  Eighty percent of the bars on the list come from the conventional N. liberties, Center City, South Philly corrider.  Below are the list's top ten:

1. Grace Tavern, 2229 Grays Ferry Avenue
2. N. Third, 801 N. Third Street
3. Good Dog Bar, 224 S. 15th
4. Sugar Mom's 225 Church Street
5. McMenamin's Taver, 7170 Germantown Avenue
6. Standard Tap, 901 N. 2nd
7. Royal Tavern, 937 East Passyunk Ave
8. For Pete's Sake, 900 S. Front Street
9. Oscar's Tavern, 1524 Sansom
10. Raven Lounge, 1718 Sansom

Spring Window Box Inspiration

My window boxes have been sitting neglected since the fall and I am eagerly anticipating a Spring update.  From my limited research I have learned our last frost typically comes around mid April, so we are getting pretty close to safe planting time.  Below are some of my favorite web pictures of Spring Window boxes.

Seatle-daily-photo.blogspot.com

mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com

hookandlattice.com

flosvintage.blogspot.com

Philly Homeowner who "Foreclosed" on Wells Fargo gets High Level Meeting

I very much enjoyed stumbling upon this article as I went through my morning ritual of google news and cereal.  The Consumerist today published a guide of sorts to how Philly resident, All Patrick, initiated a Sheriff's sale of a local Well's Fargo Branch.  I won't give away too much because you really should read the full story, but basically after months of unreturned calls to Wells Fargo about unfair charges on his mortgage account, Patrick used the RESPA law to take Wells Fargo to court.  He won a small judgement in small claims court, but was still not able to get Wells Fargo to speak to him.  At that point, he started the legal proceedings that eventually resulted in Sheriff's Sale proceedings.  Today, at 12:00 p.m. a Wells Fargo Representative will meet with Patrick.  I am eagerly awaiting word on what happens.


Photo: The Consumerist

City of Philadelphia to Sell Two Vacant Lots Used as Northern Liberties Community Spaces

The Inquirer reported this morning on the anger and frustration of Northern Liberties neighbors who have cared for and utilized two vacant lots in their neighborhood.  The lots at the center of attention are 1114 N. 4th and 1015 N. Leithgow.  According to the article, the neighbors have used these lots for Halloween festivities, Easter celebrations, birthday parties, etc.  One neighbor also said the property owner adjacent to the lot pictured above, has tried for ten years to purchase the lot.  The neighbors met last night to discuss the matter and may scramble to put together the money to bid on the lots themselves.  The frustration over the process of purchasing vacant city lots has often been in the headlines.  In a previous post I discussed the Blighted Property Conservation Act which developed out of a court case in which a non profit was awarded conservatorship over vacant lots they were trying to improve.  Since the Northern Liberties lots are scheduled to be auctioned, it is probably too late for the neighborhood association to take this route.  You have to wonder if the city gave the neighborhood enough notice to consider options such as this.

Philadelphia School Buildings Reborn

Photo: Plan Philly

Plan Philly in collaboration with the Philadelphia Public School Notebook recently produced a piece on abandoned school conversions.  The following locations/building projects were featured in the article.

The picture above is of Tony Rufo's project at 12th and Fitzwater.  The old Nathaniel Hawthorne School Building (1909) was converted into 56 lofts.  The building is the most dramatic development in Rufo's Hawthorne portfolio that includes multiple rehabs and new construction.

According to the article, A school at 8th and Lehigh has gone under contract for $600,000 and there are plans for a grocery store and senior housing.

A West Philadelphia school building at 51st and Race was converted into a large Church.

The article also highlighted the battle that took place between Independence Charter School and a condo developer for the old school at 16th and Lombard.  It seems community activism won that battle, but not before the hefty price tag of 6 million was forked over.

The article was written in the wake of the school district's recent announcement that there are 70,000 empty seats this year.  With other urban districts like Kansas City and Detroit shuttering nearly half the schools, it seems developers and community organizations in Philadelphia may soon have a lot more inventory to choose from.

Best and Worst Housing Markets

A new list predicing growth and decline in real estate markets has come out.  Here is the break down, according to Housing Predictor:

The Best 10 Markets                  The Worst 10 Markets
1. Portland, ME +3.6%               1. Bend, OR -11.5%
2 .Kansas City, KS +3.5%         2. Las Vegas, NV -10.8%
3. Tri-Cities, WA +3.4%             3. Atlantic City, NJ -10.8%
4. Omaha, NE +3.3%                4. Miami, FL -10.8%
5. Fargo, ND +3.3%                   5. Medford, OR -10.5%
6. New Orleans, LA +3.2%        6. Manhattan, NY -10.3%
7. Iowa City, IA +3.2%                7. Ocean City, NJ -10.3%
8. Columbia, MD +3.1%             8. East Providence, RI -9.5%
9. Bellevue, NE +3.1%               9. Jacksonville, FL -9.3%
10. Bismarck, ND +3.1%           10. Orange Beach, AL -9.3%

Notable nearby areas, not in the top 10: Bethesda MD and Silver Spring, MD both made best list with 3.0% increases.  Rounding out the top 25 worst list were Wilmington, DE at 14th worst with a decrease of 8.9% forecasted, and Newark DE at -8.6%. 

Nonprofit Spotlight: Save Our Sites

saveoursites.org

A newish non profit is focusing on historic sites in Philadelphia.  S.O.S, or Save Our Sites was recently featured on Plan Philly and the detailed article is worth reading.  Plan Philly notes that this group's list of endangered locals is a bit "quirky" and even includes a parking lot.  The group's website is still under construction and the link to the list didn't seem to be working, so check out the Plan Philly article for the endangered locations.  My favorite quote from the website: "A city without old buildings is like a person without a memory" -Konrad Smigielski

The Group's purpose as stated on their website:
Save our sites will advocate for the preservation of sites and structures within the City of Philadelphia deemed valuable. These sites include historic ones, though they may not always be certified or in historic districts. The modern, the vernacular and those properties not fitting into any particular category, will be the focus of Save Our Sites as well. . Therefore, Save Our Site's mission goes beyond historic preservation in the narrow sense, with the intention of preserving Philadelphia as a highly livable, traditional city.


Save Our Sites, in addition to its focus on preservation, will advocate for new development that is appropriate to each site and that is compatible with its surroundings.
Save Our Sites will stress the link between preservation and sustainability.

Tuesday Links

Philadelphia Inquirer
Major Snowstorm to Arrive by Evening Philadelphia Inquirer
Sheriff's Office May Owe Millions in Unclaimed Auction Proceeds Daily News
Robbins Diamonds Closes Two Stores Philadelphia Inquirer
Unlisted: West Philadelphia Title and Trust Field Notes
Foxwoods Team asks PGCB to Renistate its License

New Restaurant Two Weeks from Opening in Old Paesano's Location at 9th and Christian

Photo: Grub Street Philadelphia

Things are happening at what is to be the "only real Sicilian food in town".  Paesano's will be moving a couple of blocks south to Bebe Barbeques old location to make way for Peter McAndrew's new project.  McAndrews is lining up his staff and there is a lot of action in preparation for the opening. 

Green 2015

Below is the guide to the ambitious plan to create 500 acres of new green space in the city of Philadelphia.  I am pretty excited by the plan and, if executed, it would be an obvious quality of life boost for city residents.

Open publication - Free publishing - More philadelphia

Restaurant Round-Up

If it seems like new restaurants are popping up everywhere, it is because they are.  Philly Inquirer recently reported on the increase in fine dining in center city, stating there are now 278 "fine dining" restaurants, up from 238 in 2006.  Below is information on some anticipated restaurant openings.

Stephen Starr's Fishtown Bear Garden


Photo: brownstoner

 Brownstoner recently blogged that development at 1210 Frankford seems to be moving again.  It sounds like it was anticipated to open last Summer.  Hopefully the wait won't be too much longer.                                                       




Indian for Grad Hospital


photo: foobooz



Foobooz has a new feature called "A Walk Down".  Their recent walk down South Street turned up some information.  Apparantly, King of Tandoor is opening a second location at 1634 South Street.

18th and Federal


Photo: Brownstoner



Some of the people associated with South Philly Taproom are opening a restaurant in the former Wander Inn building.  With a rumored OCF cafe at 20th and Federal, it looks like Grad Hospital development is heading South.  Brownstoner has extensive coverage on the progress. 

"Man Makes Ridiculously Complicated Chart to Find Out Who Owns His Mortgage"

Huffington Post

Goldtex Building will be Developed into Apartments

A beautiful, old textile building with a prominent location near center city and all the convention center action, is getting a new life.  According to public records, the building at 315 N. 12th Street sold last month to "Post Goldtex LP" for 4.5 million.  The property had been listed for 8.25 million.  According to the listing, zoning has approved 145 units in 125,000 usable square feet.