House of the week: A six-bedroom in Upper Roxborough for $725,000
The stone house has many of its original features, including a leaded glass transom at the entry and ribboned hardwood floors.
For Jennifer Rodier, it was “a wonderful place to grow up.”
The six-bedroom, 2½-bathroom stone house is on a wide Upper Roxborough street, perched high above a valley.
Her father, Walter D’Alessio, bought the house in 1969, and “he never wanted to let go of it,” Rodier said.
D’Alessio headed the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. and served under five Philadelphia mayors. He died in 2024.
Rodier, a nonprofit executive who lives in Lafayette Hill, is selling the place where she and her friends played hide-and-seek or cavorted in the large yard.
She said the D’Alessios did extensive renovations on the house in their time there.
It is 4,406 square feet, and Rodier says it was built around 1910, with her parents only the second owners.
The house has a center-hall Colonial foyer, its original wide entry door with a leaded glass transom, original exposed ribboned hardwood floors, a grand staircase with a window seat, original wall light sconces and pocket doors, and a wraparound front porch.
The formal living room has a working wood-burning fireplace, and the first floor includes the kitchen, breakfast room, powder room, and pantry.
The second floor has four bedrooms with large closets and a hall bath.
The third floor has the other bedrooms, including a large front bedroom that could be used for a primary suite, and bath with a claw-foot tub.
The house has a full basement with a workshop and a storm door to the rear yard.
The sale could include some of the original furnishings, Rodier said.
The house is minutes from the Ivy Ridge Regional Rail station, Route 309, and the Schuylkill Expressway.
It is listed by Dennis McGuinn of Realty Broker Direct for $725,000.