A neighborhood historic district fight | Real Estate Newsletter

1,441. That’s how many properties could make up Philly’s largest new historic district in decades.

The city is considering whether to create a district in the Center City neighborhood of Washington Square West. The local civic association has been working to get the designation for years, but not everyone wants it.

Keep scrolling for that story and to see how warehouses are reshaping communities across the region, learn about a popular type of home addition, and see the favorite pieces that a fellow newsletter reader brought home from antique shops.

📮Have you put an addition on your home? What for? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.

— Michaelle Bond

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Philly may soon create one of its largest historic districts. These are places the city designates as significant and where properties are shielded from demolition and property owners need the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s permission to make changes to the exterior of buildings.

Last week, the Historical Commission’s committee on historic designation recommended that the commission create the Washington Square West Historic District. The area was nominated by the local civic organization and a preservation group. They said the area documents Philly’s development and is culturally significant to Black, immigrant, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ communities.

Some stats about the proposed historic district:

The Historical Commission is scheduled to decide next month whether to create the district.

Keep reading to learn the boundaries of the proposed district, why some residents think bigger isn’t better, and why members of the historic designation committee think the district shows how ideas about preservation have changed.

The Facebook group for my South Jersey hometown isn’t the only one filled with complaints about all the warehouses popping up. Residents across the region are fighting back.

Warehouses can mean jobs and tax revenue, but they also can mean loss of farmland and green space, truck traffic on residential roads, noise pollution in neighborhoods, and tangible pollution flowing in area rivers. In some places, the massive buildings loom over homes.

Across the Philly area in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, about 55 million square feet of warehouse space has been built or started to be built since 2020. You can thank your and your neighbors’ demand for next-day package deliveries.

My mom’s neighbors have lots of reasons to complain. Burlington County has the largest amount of warehouse space built or under construction in the Philly area. The region’s biggest warehouse is in Cinnaminson, and it’s an eye-popping 1.2 million square feet.

A bunch of my colleagues worked together to write a comprehensive story about warehouse trends across the region, including what’s coming. You can even watch a graphic that tracks how more and bigger warehouses have popped up recently.

If you’ve looked around your town or neighborhood and wondered, What’s up with all these warehouses?, this is the story for you.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: I like the concept of sunrooms.

I really like being outside. But sometimes it’s just too hot or too cold. And sometimes you just don’t want to deal with bugs, or the weather’s bad. Luckily, I don’t struggle with allergies, but they’re another reason you might not want to spend too much time outdoors.

Enter the sunroom.

Andrew and Emily Buschmeier added a large one to their house in Horsham, and now it’s their family’s favorite hangout spot all year. It even has a heated floor.

Sunrooms are expected to get even more popular over the next few years. With big ole windows cracked to feel a breeze, you can almost pretend you’re outside. Keep reading to learn about the different types of sunrooms and what you need to know if you want one.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently announced a plan that would turn 17 acres between housing developments in Northeast Philly into the first bow hunting grounds within the city’s borders. Licensed hunters will be able to kill deer there.

Question: Nearly a decade ago, what were residents told would happen to the vacant woodland?

A) Homes would be built there.

B) It would become a public park.

C) A school would be built there.

D) It would be home to a giant warehouse.

This story has the answer.

Do you know the location this photo shows?

📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.

Last week’s quiz answer was the Curtis Institute of Music on Locust Street across from Rittenhouse Square. Shout out to Bruce H., who said:

“I don’t have any special recollections, but it is quite famous as the site of a key opening scene in the movie ‘Trading Places,’ where Eddie Murphy is found out as a street hustler. It’s hard to ever forget that scene or all the gritty Philly shots in it.”

Last week, I asked about favorite antiques. Jennifer M., who lives in the Spring Garden/Fairmount area of Philadelphia, told me her favorite is a “circa 1820 Hudson Valley, N.Y., mantel” from the Francis J. Purcell antique shop in Old City.

“Second place goes to the Aesthetic Movement black urns on top that were found at the Antique Store in Wayne, Pa.”

—

If you ride buses, I’ve got some news for you. SEPTA has finally approved a plan to overhaul its bus system. My colleagues created a tool that lets you type in your address and see how the Bus Revolution affects you.

Fingers crossed that your routes changed for the better. Enjoy the rest of your week.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.