Introducing a new weekly feature that takes you inside the home-buying process — the search, the emotions, the funding.
My colleague’s “How I Bought My House” series launched last week and highlights the experiences of local buyers.
For the first story, Abigail Covington talked to the wine director at Irwin’s in the Bok building. With help from the city, he purchased a South Philly rowhouse built in 1910.
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
Spending highlights: Get the latest details of the mayor’s plan to spend almost $195 million this year to build and preserve homes.
Gigantic project: Learn what a developer’s plans in Northern Liberties tell us about the rental market.
‘Coastal sanctuary’: Tour this $9.3 million newly built home for sale in Ocean City’s high-end Gardens neighborhood.
Evolving bungalow: Peek inside this house in Ventnor that’s just a few blocks from the ocean and steps from the bay.
— Michaelle Bond
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The rowhouse’s lime-green front door was actually a draw for Michael Lancaster.
It was “definitely a standout on the block,” he said.
He liked a lot about the house, including the exposed brick and high ceilings. And he was ready for his own place.
He’d been working with a real estate agent who’s a regular at Irwin’s to find a house that would be a short walk from his job in South Philly’s Bok building.
He discovered what is now his home, which was listed for $270,000. After some inspection drama, he got the house for $256,000.
Check out the first installment in this new series that highlights local residents’ home buying stories.
And tune in next week for the story of a Boston welder who stacked five grants to buy her West Philly home.
We’ve talked in this newsletter about Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s plan to preserve or create 30,000 homes during her term, a plan she calls the Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., initiative.
Last week, we got our hands on a budget resolution that has more details about how Parker wants to spend almost $195 million this year.
The largest chunk of that money would go toward preserving affordable homes that already exist.
The mayor plans to divvy up the funds among 26 programs, some new and some that are already helping renters and homeowners.
City Council still has to approve the budget resolution. Today is the first day that it can formally be introduced.
Read on for more details about the resolution and why groups are criticizing who will benefit from the plan.
The latest news to pay attention to
The developer Post Brothers is embarking on the second part of its gigantic Piazza Alta project in Northern Liberties.
A New York developer plans to extend the Delaware River Trail in exchange for permission to build a massive apartment high-rise on Columbus Boulevard.
A developer is planning almost 300 apartments at the former Hahnemann University Hospital campus.
How a Montgomery County neighborhood came together in three days to push back against a Main Line developer’s plan for an AI data center.
A Delancey Street townhouse filled with 100,000 books is a bibliophile’s dream — and an epic estate sale.
A contractor who was part of an “extraordinarily brash” bribery scandal at 30th Street station has been sentenced to prison.
House of the week: For $375,000 in Germantown, a three-bedroom home with a detached garage and studio.
Luxe listing: For $9.3 million in Ocean City, a nearly 4,000-square-foot custom home in the high-end Gardens neighborhood.
Amy and Zachary Bell’s dreams of Shore living came true in the form of a beach bungalow in Ventnor.
They’d wondered whether they’d ever be able to afford a Shore house until they found the 1,200-square-foot single-family home that needed some work.
They updated the bathroom, fixed flooring, fenced in the yard, and added lighting. Zachary, a union electrician, found a 1950s cargo ship light and turned it into a hanging lamp above the kitchen table.
The upstairs loft is made up of two small bedrooms. The Bells are tall, so the space is a little tricky to navigate. But they’ve adapted.
Peek inside their bungalow and learn about the history of the home and how the Bells currently use the property.
📷 Photo quiz
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.
Readers couldn’t identify planters at Dilworth Park the week before last, but lots of people emailed me to correctly answer last week’s photo quiz, which featured Eastern State Penitentiary.
Shout-out to Sean R. and Kate F., two of the first to get that right.
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I let you know in last week’s newsletter that the former Painted Bride Art Center building in Old City will be demolished later this month. I’ve been writing about on-and-off redevelopment plans at the site for years.
For more than a quarter century, the building has been wrapped in a signature 7,000-square-foot mural made by famed Philadelphia mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. Now a developer plans to replace it with apartments.
How did we get here? Check out this video that breaks down why one of Philly’s most iconic public art pieces is getting demolished.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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