Haddonfield selling deteriorating homes | Real Estate Newsletter
And Moorestown tries to preserve history.
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A $50,000 price tag for a home in Haddonfield feels like it’s missing a zero. But that’s how much the borough is selling a historical home for.
The property is one of two historical houses that have been deteriorating for years and that Haddonfield is now off-loading. Buyers want to turn the properties into condos and an inn/restaurant.
Some residents are upset about the homes’ deterioration and sales prices.
Keep scrolling for that story and to find out what Moorestown officials are trying to accomplish on their third try, see which housing assistance program Philly City Council members want to make permanent, and peek inside a Cheltenham home filled with antiques.
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Two historic houses and a prominent piece of land in Haddonfield are being reimagined.
Some quick facts about the houses:
Lullworth Hall
built in 1886
selling for $50,000
could become two condominiums (with two more in the adjacent carriage house), according to the buyers’ proposal
Boxwood Hall
built by a descendant of Haddonfield’s founding family
selling for $200,000
bought by the borough in 2014 to settle a lawsuit by a developer who wanted to build 33 apartments there
an ambitious proposal to build a 350-seat performing arts center there fell through years ago
could become a 10-room inn and restaurant, according to the buyers’ plans
A resident who runs a community Facebook page told my colleague that residents are “upset by the way these houses fell apart under [borough ownership] due to what looked like demolition by neglect. And now they’re being given away.”
Haddonfield’s mayor called the deals a win for the borough, which, officials said, couldn’t keep holding onto the properties.
There’s also a plan to build homes on about eight acres at the former Bancroft school campus in the borough.
Keep reading for details about those redevelopment plans and what made Lullworth Hall and Boxwood Hall challenging for the borough to sell.
Maybe the third time’s the charm?
Moorestown is on its third try in 25 years to create a historic preservation district. Legal challenges and votes against it have kept it from happening so far.
Opponents object to the government telling owners what they can do to their properties. A historic designation would prevent owners from demolishing or making certain changes to buildings. The proposed historic district would include commercial and residential properties.
One of the properties that would be included is an almost 4,800-square-foot house that a grassroots group called Saving Historic Moorestown is trying to save. The house was built as a single-family home in the late 1880s, but it was most recently a funeral parlor.
It’s on the market for $750,000. And Saving Historic Moorestown is worried a buyer will tear it down.
Read on for more details and see exactly where the proposed historic district would be.
The latest news to pay attention to
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration plans to clean every block in Philly this summer — and that includes fixing abandoned properties.
City Council members want to make Philly’s Eviction Diversion Program permanent.
These Philly entrepreneurs were able to start businesses because they live in Philadelphia Housing Authority homes.
City Council is likely going to pass new rules that restrict new construction and remodeling in a corner of Chestnut Hill despite pushback from Philly’s planning commission.
The real estate company that turned a huge former power plant on the Delaware River into a residential and hotel complex now plans to add a state-of-the-art indoor sports facility.
This boating couple wants to bring a $40 million marina to Philadelphia to attract boaters and spur more waterfront development.
Here’s how the Sixers’ plan for a new downtown arena avoids property taxes.
House of the week: For $695,000 in Elkins Park, a four-bedroom white brick Colonial.
“Barbara Kotzin found the Victorian gingerbread cottage of her dreams on a winding road in Cheltenham.”
I love this sentence from the opening paragraph of our latest home-tour story, which details how Kotzin has made the cottage her own.
Her home, which was built in 1868, isn’t dark inside like you might expect in a Victorian. She’s made it bright and airy.
Speaking of airy, she’s also hung more than a dozen mini hot air balloons from the ceiling in one of the rooms. Both folks in the Victorian era and Kotzin love them.
Peek inside Kotzin’s home and see some of her large collection of antiques, including candy tins and a wreath made of human hair.
🧠 Trivia time
Philly is still the sixth-largest U.S. city. But between April 2020 and July 2023, it lost about 53,000 residents, according to recent estimates from the Census Bureau.
Question: Which fast-growing city is probably going to knock Philly down to seventh place this decade?
A) Phoenix
B) San Antonio
C) San Diego
D) Dallas
This story has the answer.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the Philadelphia 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 was a tough one. The photo showed the face of the Commonwealth Building at 1201 Chestnut St. Shout out to Lars W., a loyal reader and often-correct quiz answerer, who got that right.
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Now that it’s basically summer, I’ll leave you with a story from my colleague Ariana Perez-Castells about a hotel in Ocean City that recently got a makeover. The owner of Coastal Chateau calls it a “luxury castle.” It has pet-friendly villas, and the owner describes its aesthetic as “French modern meets coastal elegance.”
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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