Buyers want the new, not the traditional

There was a time, not very long ago, when the number of unsubsidized, market-rate residential construction projects within the Philadelphia city limits could be counted on one hand.

Now, you need a scorecard to keep track, and even that list might need to be updated daily.

Noah Ostroff, of Keller Williams Real Estate in Center City, said that, typically, when he gets a call from someone looking to buy a property in the city, it is for new construction.

"I don't have many people looking for traditional - what we call 'homes with character,' " he said.

For the most part, these are not big projects like Toll Bros.'s Naval Square or the high-rise condos developed by Carl Dranoff and Tom Scannapieco.

They are smaller projects, by developers who were able to weather the real estate downturn because they didn't think too big and overextend.

Earlier this month, the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia sponsored a tour of four residential projects in the strongest markets along the Delaware riverfront.

"We chose the projects based on proximity to each other, the stage of development, and variety," said BIA's Marianne Scott.

"We had green building, condominiums, townhomes, stick-built, modular, and small and large new neighborhood development," she said.

Icehouse Condominiums on East Columbia Avenue in Fishtown, developed by E-Built L.L.C., was a green project, and its first phase of 13 condos - 10 new and three rehabs completed in 2010 - got LEED certification.

The second phase of nine flats is sold out. Developer James Maransky said 11 of 14 in Phase 3 have sold, "and we haven't even finished framing."

"I would expect that we will sell out by August with the units not planned to be ready till late fall," Maransky said. "Demand has been crazy, with Web inquiries and showing requests almost daily."

Icehouse prices range from $242,000 to $399,000.

Adam Lisausky of Momentum Development came to 924 New Market St. with experience honed on projects in Northern Liberties and Fishtown.

Five townhouses, two for sale, were started a year ago, after the building at the site - a Baptist church, then a synagogue, and finally a fence company - was razed.

"It took longer to get the permits than do the work," said Lisausky, adding that construction began "about this time last year.

Most of his buyers are first-timers who had been renting, lured by first-floor bonus rooms and powder rooms behind the garage areas, three bedrooms, and 21/2 baths.

The end unit is $650,000, while the model is $625,000, he said.

"I want to get on to the next project," said Lisausky, who refers to all of them as "my babies."

In Old City, Equinox Management and Construction is building Baldwin Luxury Townhomes at 300-310 N. Second St.

Equinox is building Ross Luxury Townhouses, three $2.5 million homes across from the Betsy Ross House on Arch Street.

The six 4,000-square-foot Baldwin townhouses have five bedrooms, but "they can be flex space," said Jason Morris, coordinator for both projects.

The townhouses are "smarthomes," he said, with the environment and just about everything else controllable from your iPhone off site or two built-in iPads on site.

Garages have 220-volt lines for charging your Tesla. Roof decks have irrigation systems finished with stone pavers.

Don't forget the two wet bars - "one in the dining room, the other on the fourth floor for the roof deck," Morris said.

The price is $1.5 million to $1.6 million, but "there are no condo fees and a 10-year tax abatement," he said.

The 75 townhouses at BridgeView at the Waterfront on South Swanson Street in Queen Village, designed by JKR Partners and built by U.S. Construction, are rentals, said Ostroff, who is handling leasing for the developer.

"It is niche market," he said, adding, "It is unusual in the city to move into rental townhouse communities."

Monthly rent: $2,950 and up, with first move-ins Sept. 1, he said, and "the views are spectacular."

215-854-2472@alheavens