House of the week: A condo in Northern Liberties for $549,000
The second-floor unit is one of five in the building, with a chiropractic office on the street level.
Jess Gangemi and her husband, Sam, bought the two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in Northern Liberties sight unseen when “the world was shutting down” due to COVID-19, she said. They had never lived in a building so historic as the former factory, built in 1902.
The couple were living and working in Denver, but traveling to see the place was impractical in 2020.
They moved in later in the spring and lived there for about four years before moving to Wilmington, where they found a home with more space to raise a family. Jess said they still have ties to Northern Liberties and many friends there.
Jess, a software consultant, and Sam, a plaintiff’s attorney, met in high school in Ocean County, N.J., and were undergraduates at Temple.
Their second-floor unit is one of five in the building, above a street-level storefront hosting a chiropractic office.
In earlier incarnations, the upper levels housed a furniture store and an iron foundry.
The Gangemis remodeled the primary bathroom, as well as the kitchen, where they installed open shelving like one might find in a chef’s kitchen. And they hand-painted the patio to give it what Jess described as “a little bit of a New Orleans swagger.”
The 1,500-square-foot loft unit has hardwood floors, high ceilings, exposed brick, and large east-facing windows.
The kitchen has butcher-block counters and brass fixtures.
There is a small dining nook, a covered porch, and a patio with painted checkerboard floors.
The primary bathroom has a spa-like wet room and a free-standing soaking tub.
There is in-unit laundry and mechanicals, and bike and storage room on the lower levels.
The building allows units to be used for short-term rentals with proper licensing.
The Gangemis are also willing to sell the condo furnished.
The house is listed by Kate McCann of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors for $549,000.