A couple of weekends ago I got myself onto an e-mail list run by an organization that builds super-green housing in Philadelphia. Today I got a notice about a home they're selling in the greater "Port Fishington" area of town -- call it Port Richmond if you want people to think you're a thug, call it Fishtown if you want people to think you live in a hip neighborhood, or call it Kensington if you want people to think you're an urban pioneer.
Quarter of a million dollars for a 2-bedroom, 1-bath, 1300-square-foot loft.
Granted, it's almost literally around the corner from the Philadelphia Brewing Company. However, an intense google search reveals that there's no supermarket within walking distance, though there are plenty of convenience stores and a handful of specialty grocers. Not that there isn't an actual thriving economy in the neighborhood. The last time I walked from the brewery to the nearest El station I saw plenty of evidence that at least some group of people makes money there. I can see it now, though. "Watch your step, honey," I'll be telling my daughter on our way to the El every morning before school; "don't slip on that crack baggie near your left foot and land on that old syringe near your right!"
On the other hand, the $250,000 home incorporates just about all the sustainable and low-environmental-impact features that you can think of: solar panels and hot water, rainwater collection, green walls, low-VOC finishes, and enough compact fluorescents to run a modest grow op with. To take your own house or apartment or a building shell and install these upgrades yourself would cost quite a bit of money, not to mention the disruption while you live there (or delay until you can move in). There's certainly something to be said for an out-of-the-box solution.
But $250,000 for a small loft in Kensington? The builders should be ashamed of themselves for calling it "affordable."
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2 comments:
in seattle, that house would go for $625,000.
Well, you know the market out there better than I do, but I dunno. On the one hand, it's all brand-new fixtures (and premium energy-star type stuff, too). But on the other hand, it's a renovated warehouse or factory in a very, very sketchy neighborhood. And I'm talking Philadelphia sketchy.
The offer price is comparable to other warehouse loft projects in town, but I just can't get over the price for that neighborhood. You could buy 2 or even 5 Kensington rowhomes with similar square footages for that kind of money.
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