The Navy Yard is not your typical Philly neighborhood. But that’s partly why its first apartment renters say they like it.
The decommissioned military base at the southernmost edge of the city is now mostly a hub for offices and laboratories and is home to more than 150 companies. The first homes for people opened there late last year.
My colleague and I wrote about what it’s like to be among the first to live at the Navy Yard.
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
- Not NIMBYism: Find out who’s behind the orange signs that have popped up around Philly criticizing rogue developers.
- Renter lawsuit: Learn about a class-action lawsuit that’s the first case under Philly’s new law banning landlords from coordinating to set rents.
- Making moves: The long-awaited housing tower on Jewelers Row could actually happen.
- Eco-friendly living: Peek inside this energy-efficient Brewerytown home with cheap utility bills.
— Michaelle Bond
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The Navy Yard’s first residents
The folks behind two new apartment buildings at the Navy Yard in deep South Philly are calling the area “Philadelphia’s newest neighborhood.”
Sure the neighboring buildings are the only ones that house residents and you have to drive to get groceries, but some of the first residents of the apartments say that’s fine.
I visited the property in early March when the first tenants were moving in. My colleague Erin McCarthy went back this month. More people live in the buildings now, but about 70% of the 614 units still await tenants.
Renter Integra Feliciano told me the area is “still up-and-coming in terms of having more restaurants and stuff” but called the Navy Yard “a little gem.”
She and another resident Erin and I talked to said they’re not really city people, which is why they like living at the Navy Yard. There’s a lot of open space, and free parking is plentiful.
The national apartment brand AVE opened the Constitution building late last year and the Normandy building this spring. Normandy includes both unfurnished apartments and furnished units marketed to business travelers.
Navy Yard stakeholders eventually want to see thousands of apartments in the area.
Keep reading to learn more about the first new homes to open at the Navy Yard and meet some of the early residents.
A campaign against rogue developers
Have you seen orange signs around your neighborhood that say “Their Profit. Your Loss!”?
In recent months, “Build Fair Philly” signs have popped up on rowhouses and lawns across the city. The campaign calls out the practice of shoddy and harmful real estate development.
Peter Kim in Passyunk said that when he found a flyer on his door, he figured it was from “some NIMBY [not in my backyard] anti-housing group.”
But the organization behind the campaign is actually the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.
The union is generally pro-development since building means work for its members. But the Carpenters are encouraging Philly residents to join its push for more regulation in the construction industry.
Learn more about the campaign and the Build Fair Philly pledge that thousands of people have signed.
The latest news to pay attention to
- A West Philly renter has sued his property manager and RealPage in the first test of a Philly law banning landlords from coordinating to set rents.
- For the first time in almost two years, Pearl Properties is making visible movement on its long-awaited Jewelers Row housing tower.
- Plans for apartments near Penn Treaty Park will be scrapped to build more townhouses.
- SEPTA is trying its free fare program with apartment renters.
- Is building a data center on a Superfund site safe? Construction has started on one in Chester County.
- For the first time, Pennsylvania will take inventory of its aging school buildings.
- Architecture critic Inga Saffron says the proposed demolition of the William Way center would erase an important Philly landmark.
- In a Montgomery County data center fight, local officials say a developer has “bullied” them. He says that’s a “bold-faced lie.”
- House of the week: For $675,000 in Wyncote, a three-story Victorian with its original hardwood floors.
Home tour: Low energy in Brewerytown
Come for the cute dog; stay for the energy efficiency.
With utility prices as high as they are, I’m always interested to hear about how folks are keeping costs down. Chuong Nguyen says he pays almost nothing to heat his Brewerytown house and about $100 a month total for all his utilities.
It all comes down to Nguyen’s focus when he was house hunting. He chose his home because it was a rare find: a multiunit Zero Energy Ready house.
He doesn’t have to turn on the heat until the outside temperature dips well below freezing, he said, because his home is well insulated, and windows let in sunlight all year.
Nguyen’s passion for living with a low carbon footprint stems from his childhood in Vietnam and eight years living in France.
In Brewerytown, Nguyen lives with his Yorkie poodle, Milo, in the two-bedroom upper unit and rents the two-bedroom lower unit on Airbnb. He furnished the house with secondhand items, mostly from Facebook Marketplace.
Peek inside Nguyen’s energy-efficient home and discover which fashion statement makes Milo a neighborhood favorite.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the location this photo shows?
📮 If you think you do, email me back.
Last week’s quiz featured a photo of the new 150-foot mural “Welcome to Philly” by artist Alloyius McIlwaine on the 1000 block of Market Street.
Shout-out to Nikol L. for knowing that location.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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