On the market: An East Kensington townhouse for $264,900

Mason Gallik grew up in a brick ranch house in the Poconos that his father, a mason, built from scratch.

“He lived in it while he was building,” Gallik says. “They proposed in [what became] my bedroom, or something like that.” His parents still live there, and his father still works.

Dad bequeathed Mason a first name but not the construction genes — he majored in finance and real estate at Temple University and became a Realtor.

But he did leave his son with the desire to own a home he could put his own stamp on.

So now, after renting for two years after college and buying an East Kensington townhouse, Gallik is ready to look in the area for “something you can put your own touches on, customize. Something that needs help.”

“I’ll be directing” the renovation, he says. “I’m nowhere near as handy as [my father] is.”

“I love the aesthetics of the late-19th-century rowhomes in Philadelphia in general,” Gallik says, “and East Kensington is filled with blocks of those with many original features, such as cast-iron bump-outs that are still intact.”

Gallik’s three-bedroom, 1½-bath townhouse was built about 1875 and had been renovated when he bought it in 2018.

It’s on a garden block just steps to the Kensington Community Co-op and has easy access to I-95.

It has high ceilings and large windows that let in natural light and a fenced, private patio.

The first floor is open concept with dark hardwood floors. The kitchen has stainless steel high-efficiency appliances, quartz countertops, Shaker-style cabinets, and ample storage space. There is also a first-floor powder room.

Marble entry stairs lead to three bedrooms upstairs and a full bath and waterfall shower. Gallik uses one of the bedrooms as an office.

The house also has a high-efficiency HVAC system for central air conditioning, and a Bluetooth speaker system.

The house is listed by Mason Gallik of Redfin Corp. for $264,900.