410 Shurs Lane gets reborn as rental units

410 Shurs Lane was supposed to have been condos, and before the housing bubble burst, 23 units were completed and sold in one of the two buildings of the T. Kenworthy and Brother mill at Shurs Lane and Pechin Street in Manayunk.

Mired in legal and financial issues related to the housing bust, the second building fell deeper into "eyesore status" as Jason Dempsey and Marc Pellicciota - DP Partners - sought to acquire it.

When, in July 2015, "we were able to unwind the issues," as Dempsey put it, after a two-year effort, the building was in "horrific" shape, with boarded-up and broken windows and trash everywhere.

Ten months later, leases have been signed for 22 of the 38 apartments, and the developers are shooting for "the high 90th percentile" in occupancy rates, Dempsey said.

Rents start at $1,355 (from 513 to 662 square feet), with a two-bedroom at $1,995 (904 square feet) - including parking in a gated lot, a fitness center, and an easy walk to downtown Manayunk.

A number of tenants already have moved in, thanks to a temporary certificate of occupancy that Pellicciota obtained to accommodate the renters.

Completion was slated for May 19, marked by an event in the "social courtyard," which is a sunken area alongside the building that had some use when it was a mill but has been turned into a gathering place for tenants and friends with grills, seating, and a fire pit.

"It sounds kind of selfish promotion, but it is an event to show our appreciation for our tenants and friends," Dempsey said.

One of the architectural features in the courtyard is a large planter created by John Pellicciota, Marc's brother, who is construction superintendent.

The planter is made of extra bits of stone harvested from the factory buildings when they were loosened by construction or the mortar holding them crumbled during all those years of neglect.

Dempsey and Pellicciota strove as much as possible to preserve the architectural integrity of the building, with exposed beams and roof trusses in almost every unit.

Some of the hand-hewn oak beams stretch across the entire ceiling of the living room/kitchen areas - a showcase of craftsmanship that was the standard in the 19th century but rarely imitated in the 20th or 21st centuries.

Some of those ceilings are 15 feet high, as one would expect in 19th-century factory space.

"We tried to combine the original elements with the clean, modern feel of new construction," said Dempsey, who credits his man-of-few-words business partner Pellicciota with the success of the preservation efforts.

The windows are brand new and energy-efficient and let in as much natural light as possible, even on a gray, drizzly day.

As with just about all newer rentals these days, the kitchens are stainless steel with dishwashers and garbage disposals. Each unit has a stacked washer/dryer in the closets and "Jack and Jill" bathroom - those with two entry doors.

Countertops in some of the units were crafted from the original oak beams that couldn't be retrofitted into the ceilings or walls during construction.

Over the entrance to the apartments on the Pechin Street side is a steel frame that is being finished as a canopy.

Security is 21st century, with tenant access by a key fob, said DP Partners staffer Katrina Brooks.

"When you dial up an apartment on the entry keypad, the signal goes to the tenant's cellphone," she said.

"That means the tenant can even let a guest in from work," Brooks said.

Dempsey, a Manayunker, and Ardmore native Pellicciota have been working together for 15 years, but have been friends since they were students at Archbishop Carroll High School, Dempsey said.

As one might expect, Dempsey is exuberant when it comes to the neighborhood in which he was born and reared, crediting developer Daniel Neducin, who launched the Manayunk renaissance in 1987, as an inspiration.

"See those hills?" Dempsey asked as he gazed up Pechin Street. "Where else in Philadelphia can you find hills like that?"

aheavens@phillynews.com

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