On the market: A ‘carriage home’ near Rittenhouse Square for $665,000

The freestanding carriage house just south of Rittenhouse Square is clearly unusual in that neighborhood, open on all four sides with a huge garage door fronting the street.

The building is in its third incarnation, say owners Beth and Jake Hollinger, constructed sometime in the mid-19th century for a coal distribution business.

Some years later — the couple isn’t sure when — it was turned into a residence, with a third story added in 1960.

The Hollingers bought it in 2008 and “gut-renovated it,” says Jake, a real estate investor, turning it into a modern house rather than a place the couple describes with adjectives such as funky and dilapidated.

The bed in the main bedroom “was hanging on chains,” says Beth, a pharmaceutical manufacturer’s representative turned stay-at-home mom with two children.

The Hollingers moved to a larger home on Spruce and Front Streets, rented out the carriage house for a while, and now want to sell it. “The timing was just right,” Jake says.

“It’s not a big space,” he says — two bedrooms, 1½ baths, 1,080 square feet — “but it’s efficient.”

The street floor garage has room for two cars, and the second floor has an open floor plan with the living room, kitchen, dining area, and the half-bath.

The kitchen has high-end appliances and custom cabinetry.

The third floor has a large main bedroom with cathedral ceilings, custom built-in closets, a full bathroom with double vanity, and a dual-head shower.

The second bedroom can easily be used as an office.

There are hardwood floors throughout and HVAC installed in June. The roof deck has excellent skyline views.

Jake says that a buyer could convert the garage space to an additional bedroom, office, or home gym and increase the value of the property beyond the renovation costs.

The house is listed by Matthew Tucker of BHHS Fox & Roach Center City Walnut for $665,000.