On the market: A recently renovated rowhouse in Fishtown for $599,000
The renovation included opening up the first floor, creating a modern kitchen, and carving out a back yard.
The renovations on Alyssa and Josh Ferguson’s rowhouse in Fishtown really got started in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
The couple was living in Manhattan, working in software sales, and not thinking much about house improvements. But when the vacation home owned by Alyssa’s family seemed headed for the endangered species list, they decided to rescue it. With a scarcity of renovation contractors in the remote mountain town, they wound up doing much of the work themselves.
That was in 2016. So when they were looking to move to Philadelphia two years later, buying a house in Fishtown that needed work seemed appealing.
“It was pretty much a full gut,” Josh says. ”We took out the walls to create a truly livable, completely open first floor.”
His particular project was the back yard, large for the neighborhood and described by Alyssa as “a labor of love — or insanity.”
He leveled it out, pulled out bricks, and removed oyster shells from what was in effect a 140-year-old compost heap. (No one is sure of the house’s exact age beyond late 1800s.)
Alyssa got her “dream kitchen,” and Murphy the mutt got his romping space.
But the two-bedroom, 2½-bath house was still not large enough for the Fergusons, who now work at home, their son, and, of course, Murphy. They are moving to a larger home in Bella Vista.
The first floor of the 1,924-square-foot Fishtown house has 9½ foot ceilings, original floors and crown molding.
The kitchen has custom cabinetry, a soapstone counter and sink, marble backsplash, and luxury appliances including a 36-inch, six-burner gas range. The island can accommodate five stools and has a Viking microwave.
The back yard has more than 500 square feet of combined yard and patio space, and a new fence runs the perimeter of the property.
In addition to the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms, there is a finished basement with a half-bath and space for an office, rec room, and storage.
Additional upgrades include new HVAC.
The house is listed by Jason Rabinovich and Samuel Coady of BHHS Fox & Roach Center City-Society Hill for $599,000.