House of the week: A Spanish-style ranch house near Swarthmore for $699,000
The house has four bedrooms and a two-car garage.
Donna Wise doesn’t know if this was on the builder’s mind in 1970, but he designed a house that combined sociability and privacy.
The four-bedroom, 2½-bathroom ranch house in Wallingford has the kitchen, living room, dining room, basement, and two-car garage on one side of the house and the living quarters on the other side.
That way, Wise said, guests “can ask to use the bathroom without passing through your bedroom. And the grounds are beautiful.”
The builder’s other houses nearby were all Colonials, she said. Her parents, Mary and Robert Wise, bought the Spanish-style house 42 years ago. After her father died in 1995 and her mother in 2006, she and her sister, Cheryl Wise, remained there.
Now the sisters, who grew up in Folcroft, Delaware County, are moving to a nearby condo.
The approach to the 3,064-square-foot house is on a circular driveway.
Donna said the construction is so symmetrical that if one looks through a window, they can see through the whole house.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, and the office could be converted to a fifth bedroom.
The family opened up the layout, knocking down a wall separating the kitchen and the dining room. The basement is unfinished.
The house is near the Commodore Barry Bridge, which provides easy access to the Jersey Shore. It is also close to the Swarthmore SEPTA Regional Rail station. It is also convenient to Tyler Memorial Arboretum and several parks.
The house is in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District.
It is listed by Lindsay Wise of Coldwell Banker Realty for $699,000.