Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Tag: Weekend Real Estate

  • Biggest project yet planned for Manayunk’s Venice Island with more than 800 homes

    Biggest project yet planned for Manayunk’s Venice Island with more than 800 homes

    A developer is planning to build 807 housing units on 30 acres of Manayunk’s Venice Island, bringing an end to years of questions by residents about what would become of the land.

    Manayunk Renaissance LLC told members of local neighborhood groups about the plan during an informal meeting Wednesday. Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who represents Manayunk, also attended.

    The company confirmed the plans to The Inquirer on Thursday.

    “Venice Island is one of the most unique areas in Philadelphia, with water views on both sides, proximity to trails and outdoor space, and easy access to both SEPTA and I-76, all within walking distance of one of Philadelphia’s great neighborhoods — Manayunk,” Hercules W. Grigos, an attorney for the company, said in a statement.

    The meeting with community leaders was meant to solicit feedback on the project, which is on the former PaperWorks mill site. Neighborhood input would then be used to “refine the proposal,” Grigos said.

    Manayunk Renaissance LLC said in a statement that it plans to build multiple types of housing at what it calls The Flat Rock at Venice Island. The proposal includes 159 townhouses, 126 duplexes (with 252 units), and 396 apartments.

    John Hunter, an architect and zoning chair of the Manayunk Neighborhood Council, who attended the briefing, has long argued at community meetings against more waterfront housing because he’s concerned about flooding and overdevelopment.

    “It’s unfortunate. It follows a trend,” Hunter said of the plan. “It’s more suburbanization of Manayunk, more residential. There’s no commercial there; it’s not balanced.”

    The company noted that it would be the fifth residential project on Venice Island, although it would still require a zoning change.

    Flat Rock would also be its largest development, by far.

    Apex Manayunk has about 128 units, the Locks has 60 townhouses, and the Isle has roughly 160 apartments. A 181-unit project is also planned by Rock Urban Development, a scaled down version of an earlier proposal.

    Where would the new housing be built?

    The 30-acre site at 5000 Flat Rock Rd. lies on the northwestern side of the island. Manayunk Renaissance LLC purchased the property in 2021 for $23 million, according to city records. The property takes up about 45% of the island’s land mass.

    Some area residents had been hoping for either open space or less dense development with commercial uses mixed in.

    The developer plans 500 parking spaces for the 800 proposed residential units, according to Hunter. That would fall short of the typical one-to-one standard in Manayunk, he noted.

    Manayunk Renaissance LLC did not respond to a question about the parking.

    What’s planned for 30 acres of Manayunk’s Venice Island? Residents worry.

    Who is behind the project?

    It was not immediately clear who is backing Manayunk Renaissance LLC. The company shares an address with A.P. Construction, a South Jersey-based construction company, with an office at the Navy Yard.

    A.P. Construction boasts a portfolio of big projects in the region, including work on bridges, stadiums, and the Manayunk Bridge Connector Trail and Park.

    Hunter said the developer told residents at Wednesday’s meeting that Philadelphia-based Varenhorst would be the architect. The company also designed the Locks, an earlier residential project on the island.

    Map of planned development on a 30-acre site on Venice Island in Manayunk.John Duchneskie

    Flooding concerns

    Hunter said residents are particularly concerned about flooding. Hurricane Ida in 2021 hit Manayunk hard and inundated some of the buildings on the island.

    Hunter and others fear more building will leave Venice Island residents trapped in another big storm, while contributing to even more flooding as runoff flows into the river and canal.

    The 5000 Flat Rock Rd. property lies just below the Flat Rock Dam.

    Venice Island, one of the lowest-lying areas of the city, is a narrow wedge of land, just shy of 70 acres and roughly 1.7 miles long between the Schuylkill River and Manayunk Canal.

    The island falls within a high-risk, 100-year-floodplain designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), meaning it has a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.

    In September 2021, as Manayunk experienced flooding from Hurricane Ida, people take in the view from Rector Street of the fast running water at the canal that runs along Main Street and feeds into Schuylkill River.ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

    In a statement — also shared with neighbors — Manayunk Renaissance LLC said it had hauled in 400,000 cubic yards of soil to raise the site between 9 and 11 feet, bringing it at least 18 inches above flood elevation.

    The company said it had approvals from FEMA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Philadelphia Water Department for the new grading and height.

    Manayunk Renaissance also said it razed a dilapidated 512,000-square-foot mill building and is working to clean up lead and asbestos.

    Manayunk Renaissance said in its statement that it is finalizing an agreement with SEPTA to create an emergency exit from the island via Umbria Street, where the Ivy Ridge railway station is. The company said it would pay all construction costs.

    Hunter said he and others were told during the meeting that the route includes building a bridge over the canal that leads to an on-grade crossing at the railway equipped with three gates. That new road would be reserved for emergencies.

    Zoning is an issue

    The property is zoned for industrial uses, so the developer would either need City Council to change the land use rules legislatively or seek relief from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

    “After five-plus years of work and planning, Manayunk Renaissance is ready to present its vision to the community and seek city approval to change the zoning,” the company statement said.

    Community support would be a boon for the developer in either case. Having the backing of neighborhood groups is often a positive factor at the zoning board and could sway Councilmember Jones if they go the legislative route.

    The company argues that the existing zoning allows warehouses, data centers, and other projects that “would be inconsistent with the community’s direction.”

  • The Post Brothers are planning another large apartment building for Northern Liberties

    The Post Brothers are planning another large apartment building for Northern Liberties

    The Post Brothers are planning another residential building in Northern Liberties, offering 241 one-bedroom and studio apartments at 1021 Hancock St.

    The six-story building, dubbed the Mercato, is substantially smaller than the earlier plans for the site, which featured a 13-story building with 280 units that would have offered furnished apartments and commercial space.

    The property is a part of a large array of sites the company purchased in the neighborhood in 2018 and 2019, along with the Piazza across the street at 1001 N. Second St. and the site that would become the luxury Piazza Alta development at 1099 Germantown Ave.

    “We’ve reconceptualized it [the Mercato] for today’s market and just made it regular apartments, the idea being that it becomes the more affordable entry point at the Piazza,” said Michael Pestronk, CEO of the Post Brothers, which he runs with his brother, Matthew.

    The Post Brothers have built and acquired a sprawling portfolio in Northern Liberties over the last eight years, which includes townhouses and larger two-to-three bedroom apartments.

    In 2023, they completed the 695-unit first phase of the Piazza Alta, a fancier complement to the original apartment project built by Bart Blatstein in 2009, which defined an earlier era of Northern Liberties.

    Pestronk said the first phase of Piazza Alta is now 98% leased. Last year, the company announced it had taken a $170 million construction loan for the 431-unit second phase.

    A rendering of the Post Brothers proposed new building, as seen from the corner of North Hancock Street and Germantown Avenue.Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture

    The Post Brothers decided to build this new, smaller version of the Mercato partly to ensure it better matches its surroundings and partly to keep costs down, which will then allow them to keep prices lower.

    “The smaller scale is in response to fitting in with what’s around it and wanting to achieve a more accessible price point,” Pestronk said. “By building six stories instead of 13, we’re able to offer more accessible rents.”

    Mid-rise buildings are cheaper to construct than high-rises both because they require less raw steel and concrete and because building systems like the HVAC are more complicated and expensive in larger buildings.

    The project does not require zoning changes to move forward, but it will be considered by the advisory-only Civic Design Review board on Aug. 4.

    As a result, Post Brothers met with the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association about the Mercato plans. Although members of the group praised its brick building materials, they lamented the lack of commercial space on the ground floor.

    “The main loss from the neighbors’ perspective is the activated street edge that was present previously,” reads the community group’s zoning committee minutes from its May meeting. “The new project lacks engagement.”

    Pestronk said the project is surrounded by small, narrow older streets that create problems for retailers and make loading zones a challenge.

    “We spent a lot of time talking to retailers, and it was infeasible to get anything that really makes sense there,” Pestronk said.

    An overhead rendering of the Post Brothers proposed new building, on Hancock Street.Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture

    Parking for the new apartments will be available in an existing detached parking garage across Wildey Street. The Post Brothers said they have found that the parking offered at their previous Northern Liberties multifamily properties has been underused, with only about five spaces required for every 10 apartments.

    In recent years, neighborhoods like Northern Liberties and Fishtown have been experiencing a glut of apartments as thousands of new units opened and had to compete with each other for tenants, which drove down prices.

    While that condition persists in some parts of the city, including just to the east along the Delaware River, Pestronk said it had eased in Northern Liberties along with other high-demand areas like Center City.

    “The [multifamily] market has really recovered very strongly since the second half last year,” Pestronk said. “What we’re seeing in core Northern Liberties is what you’re seeing across the better properties in the market, like the Rittenhouse area, that are basically fully recovered.”

    The company expects to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2026 and that the building will be finished two years later.

  • Here’s what $1,500 in rent can get you in Philly, Miami, Boston, and other cities across the country

    Here’s what $1,500 in rent can get you in Philly, Miami, Boston, and other cities across the country

    Apartment renters with $1,500 a month to spend can get the equivalent of one or two bedrooms in Pittsburgh, a studio in Philadelphia, or a dorm room in Manhattan.

    That’s according to an analysis by RentCafe, a national apartment search website, based on average price per square foot for apartments in properties with 50 or more units.

    A monthly rent of $1,500 can get tenants 750 square feet in Pittsburgh, 591 square feet in Philadelphia, and 210 square feet in Manhattan. The national average for this price is 703 square feet — 112 square feet more than in Philadelphia.

    In most cities, $1,500 pays for a bit less space this year than last year. Philadelphia renters lost 6 square feet, and Pittsburgh renters lost 18.

    Whether a renter paying the same amount gets a spacious home or cramped quarters can depend on the type of rental property, but it mostly depends on the location. Varying costs of living, amounts of available space, and levels of apartment demand and construction all factor into home prices and sizes.

    RentCafe’s report, published this month, looks at the 200 largest U.S. cities by population and determines how much apartment space $1,500 in rent pays for in various cities. To calculate the rough number of possible bedrooms, RentCafe looked at each city’s average square footage by bedroom count.

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    In Philadelphia, $1,500 would not even cover a one-bedroom home in an apartment building.

    In places such as Manhattan and Boston, $1,500 a month won’t even pay for a typical studio apartment. That’s the case in 26 cities. Fifteen of them are in high-cost California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, where $1,500 would get renters 429 square feet and 307 square feet, respectively.

    See what $1,700 in rent can get you across Philly (From 2024)

    In 97 of the 200 cities RentCafe analyzed, $1,500 a month could pay for apartments with one to two bedrooms. Renters could get a two- to three-bedroom unit in 31 cities, mostly in mid-sized urban centers.

    Rent money goes furthest in cities with relatively low costs in the South and Midwest. In McAllen, Texas, a renter with $1,500 a month to spend can get a 1,378-square-foot apartment, enough space for three or four bedrooms. In this city, apartment rents average just under $1,000.

  • Historic church at 42nd and Pine to become apartments after Penn declined to buy the building

    Historic church at 42nd and Pine to become apartments after Penn declined to buy the building

    The former Woodland Presbyterian Church at 401 S. 42nd St. is being converted to 35 apartments, mostly studios, with seven set aside at affordable rents.

    The oldest parts of the church complex date to 1871. But after the COVID-19 pandemic and with a shrinking membership, Woodland Presbyterian merged with several other Philadelphia congregations in a Center City building.

    They decided to sell the 42nd Street building after determining it would cost millions to rehabilitate.

    In November the property sold for $1 million to a limited liability corporation that shares the address of Bala Cynwyd-based Finch Development.

    The company has extensive rental property holdings in Philadelphia and on its website boasts a 37-unit redeveloped former church building at 1629-39 S. 28th St. in Grays Ferry.

    “It was the highest offer, and they did have a track record of one or two conversions of a house of worship,” said David Brindley, a Reformed Church leader involved with the sale. “They seemed to be people that could get things through to the finish line.”

    The building sold for $1 million at the end of last year.Jake Blumgart

    The company did not respond to requests for comment. The project’s design firm is Raymond F. Rola Architecture.

    The former Woodland Presbyterian Church is three blocks from the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. At first Brindley sought to interest other congregations, including those who cater to college students, but when those efforts failed, he approached Penn itself in 2024.

    The university made an offer in early 2025, he says.

    “It could be a space to bridge the gap between the town and the gown, and they were very interested,” Brindley said.

    “They were going to make it the new Rotunda,” a Penn-owned community space at 41st and Walnut, he said. “They were going to move the Rotunda and its activities there, the community art space there, and then be able to expand.”

    But as 2025 progressed — a year where Penn and the rest of the higher-education sector faced federal funding loss and other uncertainty — the university decided against moving forward, citing the expense of shoring up the building, Brindley said.

    “I don’t blame Penn at all, but at that time, they just couldn’t [take the] risk,” Brindley said.

    The university declined to comment.

    Plans on the Department of Licenses & Inspection’s website show units ranging from a smallest of 324 square feet to the largest at 848 square feet, which would be housed in a one-story annex on the south side of the property.

    The annex on the right-hand side of this photo will have the largest apartment in the new complex.Jake Blumgart

    Due to the proximity to the university, Brindley says he expects that renters will mostly be students associated with Penn.

    The project falls within Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s mandatory inclusionary zoning overlay (MIN), which requires that one-fifth of units in large projects be set aside for those earning 40% or less of area median income. That’s roughly $35,000 for a one-person household.

    “Project will comply with MIN overlay affordability rules as necessary,” the apartment conversion’s June 25 zoning permit reads.

    The project is zoned for duplex construction. But the former church is within the Spruce Hill Historic District, which means that Finch Development can build without a zoning variance — due to a 2019 law passed by City Council that allows historically protected special buildings like churches to be redeveloped beyond their underlying zoning.

    The law was created in reaction to the controversy over St. Laurentius Church in Fishtown, where a handful of neighbors fought against the redevelopment for so long that the church deteriorated to the point it had to be demolished.

    The Spruce Hill Historic District, like many of the newly created historic districts, is being challenged in court by local property owners, including the major student housing companies in the area like Campus Apartments and University City Housing.

    After being rejected by a local judge, an appeal is pending in Commonwealth Court.

    “I’m very glad it’s not going to get demolished,” Brindley said. “It’s not a sad story about what the building will become from my perspective. We would have certainly loved for it to have had a community-centered use, but the building was just too far gone.”

  • A new rooftop nightclub proposed for the Camden waterfront aims to be part of the city’s ‘evolution’

    A new rooftop nightclub proposed for the Camden waterfront aims to be part of the city’s ‘evolution’

    Clubgoers might soon have the chance to take in nighttime views of the Philadelphia skyline at a new rooftop nightclub along the Camden waterfront.

    The Cloud 9 SkyLounge is proposed for the rooftop deck of the fourth-floor Hinson Parking Garage next to the Delaware River Port Authority office tower on Delaware Avenue.

    The club would include a stage and dance floor, private cabanas, a pool deck, bar areas, a food truck zone, VIP parking, and more, according to the developer’s application to the city, which is still awaiting final consideration from Camden’s planning board.

    So far, city officials have approved the new use for the property, said Joe Console, attorney for the Cloud 9 developers.

    Now, the applicant will work on developing more detailed engineering reports, showing that the project complies with local regulations as it relates to traffic, noise, building capacity, and more, Console said. Once complete, the project will eventually be brought back before the planning board for review and final approval.

    “Our vision is to create a world-class entertainment and hospitality destination that showcases the beauty of the Camden waterfront, the Philadelphia skyline, and the energy of the entire region,” Cloud 9 founder and CEO Kenneth Walden said. “We want visitors to experience something they would normally expect to find in cities like Miami, Las Vegas, New York, or Los Angeles — right here in Camden.”

    As an adaptive reuse project instead of new development, the club would require no changes to the parking garage’s existing footprint, and the rooftop venue would be limited to temporary installations, according to the application.

    Parking for the rooftop venue would also be self-contained within the existing parking structure. The developers said they do not anticipate any parking issues extending into the surrounding area.

    A rendering shows the entry view of the proposed Cloud 9 SkyLounge rooftop deck of the Hinson Parking Garage on Delaware Avenue in Camden.Obtained by The Inquirer

    The parking garage is currently owned by the city’s parking authority and the rooftop would be rented to Cloud 9 starting at $5,000 per month, per the application documents. The venue would be open Thursday 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.

    “Cloud 9 was born from a simple belief: that Camden deserves extraordinary destinations just as much as any major city in the country,” Walden said. “For years, people have viewed Camden primarily through the lens of its challenges. I believe it is equally important to recognize its potential, its resilience, and the remarkable transformation taking place along the waterfront. Cloud 9 is intended to be part of that continued evolution.”

    The property is located within the city’s mixed waterfront zoning district which is designed to help revitalize former industrial or vacant properties into pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use areas along the waterfront.

    The venue’s developers included in their application that the project is “consistent with the overall vision of the [mixed waterfront zone] as it promotes: activation of underutilized urban space, enhancement of the waterfront entertainment environment, increased tourism and economic activity and adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure.”

    The new nightlife destination would be within walking distance to some of the city’s other waterfront destinations such as Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Wiggins Waterfront Riverstage, and Adventure Aquarium.

    A rendering shows the beach view of the proposed Cloud 9 SkyLounge rooftop deck of the Hinson Parking Garage on Delaware Avenue in Camden.Obtained by The Inquirer

    The office for Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said that while they are aware of the proposed rooftop bar and lounge, they declined to comment specifically on the project or its details as it continues to make its way through the land development process.

    “Camden is undergoing an unprecedented transformation as investment is taking place citywide. As a result, there is great interest from developers, and a wide variety of projects are being proposed in every part of the city,” said Vincent Basara, director of communications for the mayor’s office. “Camden is always open to new ideas and proposals. The success of this project will ultimately be based on the merit of the application. We are confident in the public process and the various reviews which are required.”

    About a mile north on the other side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority is accepting mixed-use redevelopment proposals for a 16-acre waterfront parcel that was previously home to the former Riverfront Prison and Weeks Marine site in North Camden.

    “Beyond the venue itself, I believe Cloud 9 can contribute to the city in several meaningful ways,” Walden said. “The project has the potential to create jobs, attract visitors from throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and beyond, generate additional economic activity for nearby businesses, and further strengthen Camden’s reputation as a destination worth visiting and investing in.”

    The Cloud 9 SkyLounge was presented to the city’s zoning hearing board for final site plan approval on June 1 and will need to continue through the development process before finally being voted on by the city’s planning board. The exact timeline for this process varies by project, but a final vote on Cloud 9 is likely still weeks or even months away, as the application must go before the city’s planning board, though they will not officially discuss the project until at least the board’s July meeting.

  • A historic Philly mansion up for sale comes with an unusual easement: Revolutionary War battle reenactments on the front lawn

    A historic Philly mansion up for sale comes with an unusual easement: Revolutionary War battle reenactments on the front lawn

    Built at the end of the 18th century on the site of a major Revolutionary War battle in Philadelphia, Upsala mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

    This week, it was listed somewhere else: Zillow.

    The early Federal-style estate nestled on the border of Germantown and Mount Airy is listed at $995,000 and comes with nine bedrooms, 10 fireplaces, 15 parking spaces, and a 70-page easement agreement with a peculiar caveat — once a year, the owner must permit “a re-enactment of portions of the Battle of Germantown” on their front lawn.

    “The battle reenactment is actually written into the deed. That is something any future owner of the property would be obligated to allow to happen,” said current owner Alex Aberle, who’s also a real estate agent and the property’s listing agent.

    A living room in Upsala mansion, an early Federal-style building on the 6400 block of Germantown Avenue.Courtesy of Alex Aberle

    The easement was put in place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation when Aberle and his ex purchased the mansion on the 6400 block of Germantown Avenue in 2017 and became Upsala’s first private owners since it was converted into a historic house museum in the 1940s.

    As part of the Revolutionary Germantown Festival — which commemorates the 1777 Battle of Germantown — battle reenactments were held for decades on the lawns of Upsala and Cliveden, a National Historic Trust site and mansion across the street from Upsala.

    Though the mansion was built in 1798, two decades after the battle that sought to liberate Philadelphia from British control, the property served as the staging ground for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War fight.

    Aberle said he loved having the reenactments in his front yard, but Cliveden and the sites of Historic Germantown, which host the festival, haven’t held a reenactment there since 2019.

    Carolyn Wallace, education director at Cliveden, said prior to the pandemic, organizers were reevaluating tactical demonstrations as part of the October festival in light of ongoing gun violence in the U.S. In 2020, organizers underwent a community engagement project called “Considering Re-enactments,” which sought to answer the question: “Is this still the best way to tell stories of the American Revolution?”

    “We found it was a mixed bag so we shifted more towards living history,” she said. “We still have military personnel (reenactors), but we have not done tactical demonstrations in a number of years, though I can’t say we won’t do them again.”

    And if they do, the easement still stands.

    “That runs with the land — for me and for everyone else for years to come, and hopefully, forever,” Aberle said.

    Built for John Johnson III, a fourth-generation descendent of the Janesen family, who were early Germantown settlers, Upsala stayed in the family until the 1940s, when it was seized due to financial issues.

    Preservationists worked to save the property from demolition and from the mid-1940s until the early 2000s, it was a historic house museum before it was closed due to dwindling attendance and revenue.

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation became Upsala’s owner in 2005 and Cliveden Inc., a co-stewardship organization of the National Trust, became its steward. After years of public engagement to find a new steward or use for Upsala, they put the 2.45-acre property up for sale in 2016.

    Aberle and his ex, Violette Levy, beat out eight other offers by purchasing it for $550,000 cash — $51,000 more than the asking price.

    They spent years doing extensive renovations like putting in central air, replacing the boiler, fixing the plumbing, and decorating.

    “When we bought it, the walls were mostly varying shades of yellow and cream and now there’s no yellow left, I’m happy to report,” Aberle said.

    They documented their journey on Instagram, where followers left comments about the memories they’d made at Upsala — from attending weddings there to attending a concert by the Hooters in the 1980s organized by one of the estate’s caretakers.

    “I loved hearing all those stories because that’s the kind of thing you don’t see in books,” Aberle said. “It’s super special because it only comes organically.”

    View of a hallway inside of Upsala mansion.Courtesy of Alex Aberle

    Aberle said he never had any intention of selling Upsala, but when his relationship with Levy ended and he became the sole owner of the home, it didn’t “really make sense to stay there as just one.”

    “It’s definitely a family house and that was always sort of my dream for the house,” he said.

    Aberle estimated that a little more than half of the mansion has been renovated. The back part of the house, where he’d planned to fix up the kitchen and put in a mother-in-law suite, is still in need of work, he said.

    “My relationship didn’t last quite as long as my project did so the space is ready for someone else to come in and finish it for their family,” he said.

    But another aspect of Aberle’s life did blossom because of Upsala. When he and his ex bought the mansion, it was listed by Louise D’Alessandro, a founding partner of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors. They invited her and others from the company to the first reenactment on Upsala’s front lawn after they took ownership of the property and within a year, Aberle left the real estate company where he worked and went to work for Elfant Wissahickon, where he remains.

    Aberle said he’s fallen in love with the Germantown and Mount Airy neighborhoods and is only moving just around the corner from Upsala, so he plans to make himself available for any questions from future potential owners.

    “The easement is really not as scary as the 70-page document might lead you to believe. I do mean it from the bottom of my heart. I spent nine years dealing with this document and working with this trust … and my plan is to make myself completely available to facilitate transition,” he said.

    Halloween decorations, including tombstones that have the names and dates of people who once lived in or near Upsala, are stored in the attic of the property and will be sold with it.Courtesy of Alex Aberle

    And if you’re wondering about the listing photo that shows an attic room filled with tombstones and giant mushrooms, not to worry, those are Halloween decorations. The mushrooms are from an Alice and Wonderland-themed Halloween they did one year and the gravestones have historically-accurate names and dates on them of people who lived and died in and around Upsala.

    “We set those up for a few years and added more folks each year,” Aberle said of the tombstones. “I’m leaving them in hopes someone else will carry on the tradition.”

    He’s excited to see who will become Upsala’s next owner and what they will do with the historic property.

    “I think the most important thing, for me, is it’s someone who will love this place as much as I do and have the desire to take care of it and love it,” Aberle said. “That’s what it deserves.”

    For more information on Upsala, including the entire easement agreement, visit upsalamansion.com.

  • Center City’s Mole Street is getting redeveloped and losing its affordable houses

    Center City’s Mole Street is getting redeveloped and losing its affordable houses

    The tree-lined 100 block of North Mole Street seems to cast a spell on everyone who lives there.

    This cluster of 30 two-story brick houses dates to the mid-19th century — some are close to 200 years old — and has long turned residents into devotees of its artsy parties and communal life.

    The street stands out from the surrounding blocks of high-rise buildings and surface parking lots, a lone historical holdout in the heart of Center City, where most rowhouses have been erased. Affordable rents two blocks from City Hall have attracted a mix of artists, students, and — for some reason — airline flight attendants.

    Except, now, almost all the trees have been cut down and the mid-block pocket park torn up. Many of the homes are being redeveloped, and leases are not being renewed for the motley assortment of renters who have long populated the block.

    “I’m pretty close with most people on the block, and, I mean, this sucks,” said Teddy Powell, 34, a musician who has lived on this stretch of North Mole since 2020 and can reel off the names and occupations of most people on the block.

    “We’re all being forced out of the houses that we love living in,” he said.

    Teddy Powell is being forced off the 100 block of North Mole along with most of the rest of the tenants.Jake Blumgart

    The 100 block of North Mole Street managed to stand apart for so long because it is owned by a family trust, which also dates to the 1800s, and belongs to descendants of founding father Robert Morris. The homes on Mole Street were given historic preservation protections in 1960.

    It neighbors the Central Friends Meeting, which lies just to the east and dates to the 19th century as well.

    Until last year, the trust owned 25 of the 30 homes. Rents were kept low: well under $2,000 for four-bedroom homes, mostly hosting roommates, a stone’s throw from City Hall. Individual renters would often pay just hundreds of dollars a month.

    That’s a deal that cannot be found in most other parts of Center City, where new buildings have an average rent of over $2,600 and median household incomes are among the highest in Philadelphia.

    And the group houses on this block of Mole Street tended to be tight knit, with parties spilling into the shaded street.

    From the 1980s until the COVID-19 pandemic, the block hosted the Molestice Festival, with live music, food trucks, and a pop-up bar in the pocket park tucked into the block. In 2018, cheerful chalk graffiti daubed frontages with phrases like “The Mole Hole” and “We R Sky Trash Kappa Mole.”

    “We had a lot of fun here; we’ve carried on the tradition,” Powell said. “It’s all over now, though, man. The party’s over.”

    Last year, a developer bought eight of the North Mole Street homes for $3.1 million.

    The new owner is Purity Homes Inc. Some of the zoning documents filed with the city are signed by real estate investor Armando Ahmad, with the owner’s mailing address listed in either Arlington, Texas, or a Point Breeze rowhouse that hosts seven other real estate-related LLCs.

    Ahmad did not respond to a request for comment, and the architect for the project, Carey Jackson-Yonce of Canno Design, declined to comment.

    The rowhouses holding out on the 100 block of North Mole Street in Center City are conveniently located to almost everything.John Duchneskie

    But at a meeting last September of the city’s Historical Commission reviewing Purity Homes’ plans for eight of the homes, Jackson-Yonce said his client planned to acquire most of the block.

    “They are heavily investing on the entire block, and I think in the end they will probably be able to acquire approximately 80% of the block,” Jackson-Yonce said. “This is just probably Phase One of what will probably be at least one more, if not two, more phases.”

    Jackson-Yonce noted that the family trust that has owned North Mole Street for the better part of two centuries is selling the properties in batches, perhaps to see how the developer does with the first eight.

    He assured commission members that his client was “100% committed to the faithful restoration of these homes.”

    The plans displayed at that meeting centered on adding square footage to the rear of the homes, while the interiors are being gutted to create more space. The Historical Commission regulates only the exteriors that can be seen from the street. Currently several of the homes lack roofs.

    The exception to the plan to supersize the block is the three homes at 1527, 1525, and 1523 Cherry St., on the south end of the block, which are being demolished.

    1527 to 1523 Cherry St., three 19th-century homes slated for demolition at the end of Mole Street. This photo was taken before most of the trees were cut down. Jake Blumgart

    They are not protected by historic regulations. Paul Steinke of the advocacy group Preservation Alliance says the developer wants to build an eight-unit apartment block in the place of those 19th-century rowhouses.

    Purity Homes’ plans for Mole Street will necessarily entail sharp rent increases due to the amount of money being spent to acquire and redevelop the homes.

    Powell and two other tenants on the block say that they were recently told their leases won’t be renewed.

    “Everybody that I know over here is pretty sad and disappointed about the whole thing,” said Joshua McIntyre, a more recent resident of the 100 block of Mole.

    “It’s a lot of different kinds of young people, artists, and there were several bands that practice over here, but now it’s going to be like the rest of Center City, I guess,” McIntyre said.

    Canno Architects’ designs promise that the exteriors of the buildings on this stretch of Mole Street will remain — as preservationists watch closely.

    “This block is really a magical one,” David Traub of the preservation group Save Our Sites said at last September’s Historical Commission meeting. “It’s really a miracle that it still exists in the context in which it is situated, immediately adjacent to the very center of the city … [it’s an] extremely important remnant of Old Philadelphia in Center City.”