‘Rare breed’ needed to restore old homes | Real Estate Newsletter
And suing over a toxic apartment.
It’s taken Wendy Ney Manley and Tim Manley more than two decades and counting to fix up their centuries-old Pottstown farmhouse.
Part of the problem: The couple needed help from “a rare breed,” Wendy said.
There’s a shortage of skilled craftspeople who can do the careful restoration work that’s required to maintain the region’s historical buildings. And demand for this work is high.
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
A deadly apartment: Find out why this West Philly mom says her family’s home caused her child’s death.
Change of plans: See what a developer now wants to build on a huge vacant lot in the Italian Market instead of a long-planned apartment building.
Decked-out basement: Peek inside this elaborate sports den in Haverford where Philly fandom and family memories collide.
📮Do you have an elaborate basement setup? What do ya got down there? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.
— Michaelle Bond
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James Breen and Matthew Roberson at West Chester-based R&B Restoration Carpentry have spent more than 300 hours restoring 40-some decaying original windows on the Manleys’ Pottstown home. They’ve had to rebuild original details from more than 200 years ago. And their work’s not done.
The company’s other projects have included restoring:
a log house in Elverson, Chester County
the cupola of the town hall in Old New Castle, Del.
a historical home in Bryn Mawr designed by the internationally known Philly architect Horace Trumbauer
R&B is one of the rare restoration crews in our region with the specialized skills needed to repair and maintain historical buildings.
Keep reading to find out who else is doing this kind of work around here, why workers are scarce, and what challenges restoration crews face when they try to bring storied structures back to life.
Essie Campbell’s daughter Jah’nae died after having an asthma attack at 12 years old. Campbell says the neglect of her family’s apartment led to the girl’s death.
For at least two years leading up to her daughter’s death in March, Campbell pleaded for help from the property managers at the aging West Philly affordable-housing complex where she lived.
She asked them to:
fix a leak that had made her ceiling collapse three times
pull up musty carpeting
address the mold on the walls
Notes from her doctor warned of the urgency of the situation. Campbell and all of her kids have asthma.
Campbell says she didn’t get responses to her texts and letters and her complaints to the city that her home was uninhabitable. As I reported a few years ago, in Philly, inspections of rental properties are driven by tenants’ complaints, and the city inspects only about 7% of its rental units each year.
Campbell couldn’t afford to move her family out of their toxic apartment.
“I couldn’t protect my baby,” she said.
Now Campbell is suing her New York City-based nonprofit landlord and the company’s property manager.
Keep reading to learn more about what Campbell’s family went through and how this was able to happen.
The latest news to pay attention to
An ambitious new retail proposal is replacing an almost decadelong quest to construct an apartment building on a huge vacant lot in the Italian Market.
Architecture critic Inga Saffron says the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s new approach to public housing just might work this time.
This week, the Eagles and Phillies critiqued plans for a mega development in South Philly’s stadium district that would add a large new entertainment complex and more than 1,000 apartments.
Next week, potential buyers can submit bids on the University of the Arts’ prime Center City properties. There’s been significant interest.
A major Chinatown group has drafted a more than $163 million list of demands to protect the neighborhood as City Council considers a proposed 76ers arena. It includes requests for new affordable housing.
The demolition of a landmark Cherry Hill Mall office building is expected to make way for a sports-themed “experiential” retail complex.
Philly wants to install a heated shelter at the Greyhound bus terminal, and neighbors are not happy.
House of the week: For $559,000 in Grays Ferry, a four-bedroom end unit rowhouse with eight years left on its tax abatement.
David Markowitz has amassed a collection of sports memorabilia that covers the walls and shelves of his Haverford home’s basement. His lifelong passion grew from his hobby collecting sports cards as a kid.
And now his basement is a paradise for the Philly sports history enthusiast.
“I’m a very nostalgic person,” Markowitz said. “Everything down here has a story to it and means something to me. It all reminds me of something in my childhood.”
Among his treasured sports possessions:
🏈 1980 collectors glasses from McDonald’s featuring Eagles players
🏀 a basketball signed by Sixers legend Julius Erving
🏟️ two red stadium chairs taken from the Spectrum before it was demolished
From a trip to Super Bowl LII, where the Markowitz family watched the Eagles beat the New England Patriots, Markowitz has a case that features a football signed by quarterbacks Nick Foles and Carson Wentz, pieces of the confetti that dropped on the stadium, and his family’s tickets.
See what else Markowitz has in his sports den and find out which piece of Philly sports history he’s been searching for but has so far not been able to get.
🧠 Trivia time
Philly is starting twice-weekly trash pickups this week as the first part of a $11.9 million pilot program.
Question: Which two areas of Philly will be the first to get the new service?
A) Northeast Philly
B) South Philly
C) Center City
D) West Philly
This story has the answer.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the Philly 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 photo was taken at Franklin Square at 6th and Race Streets. Shout-out to Lars W. for getting that right. I go there this time of year to watch the light show at the fountain.
In next week’s newsletter, we’ll look back on the real estate news of the last year. Enjoy the rest of your week, and see you in your inbox next Thursday.
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