The Effort Of Renovations

William Penn founded Philadelphia with the intentions of continuing his love of London’s neighborhoods. Philadelphia has been called “the City of Homes” to “the City of Residences,” but now is being established as the “City of Neighborhoods,” as Penn once dreamed.

While the total population of people moving into the city of Philadelphia and its abundance of neighborhoods is increasing, although having slowed over the past few years, builders and realtors are still trying to worth with the minimal growth. Apartments and condominiums are now becoming popular, as builders try to fit more people into one general area. The buying process for realtors depends mostly on location, as buyers are searching for a safe area.

“Selling residential property in Philadelphia can be somewhat complicated. The market for newly constructed, quality housing in popular neighborhoods is booming; condominiums are the most popular form of ownership because of their size and the buyer has rights associated with the property,” said Rebecca Sole, a licensed real estate agent at Delphi Property.

“Areas in the city of Philadelphia that are undergoing improvement now are located in Northern Liberties, West Poplar, Francisville and Sharswood. These areas are the ones in which agents focus their search,” Rebecca said. “Basically anywhere off Susquehanna Road isn’t an area that developers are currently interested in. Areas in between Center City and the Northeast haven’t filled out yet, and it would be hard to attract people to another area in the city without there being entertainment in between.”

Jeff Carpineta, a realtor at Solo Real Estate, is an advocate for buying and selling houses in and around East and Old Kensington. Jeff lives on the border of Kensington and has created a unique complex of older rowhouses for artists and urban visionaries to move into. He intends to turn the negative impressions of Kensington into positive.

“Kensington is situated right near Fishtown and Northern Liberties, two areas that are attracting customers. I really think areas like East Kensington are going to join the trend in the next couple years,” Jeff said. “People are passionate about making their city better and that starts with making the effort to start renovations.”

According to Philadelphianeighborhoods.com, the neighborhood of Mantua, located in West Philadelphia, has been selected as part of President Barack Obama’s Promise Zone project. The article reads, “Today, a year after Mantua was designated as a Promise Zone, construction and development has indeed grown, but is it benefiting the exact neighborhood of Mantua? In the heart of Mantua, you will struggle to find a single set of scaffolding. However, once you move closer to University City, almost every street is bombarded with homes and apartments going through renovation”

The article continues, “The purpose of the Promise Zone project is to build safe public spaces and to strengthen federal assistance in housing, education and public safety.” It is important that attention is drawn to these types of neighborhoods to help them keep up with the growth of other developed areas.

“The City of Neighborhoods” comes with the immense pride Philadelphians have for their city and its different neighborhoods. Realtors are trying to expand their markets to areas further from Center City in hopes of growing Philadelphia, not just in numbers, but also in a more positive light.