Questions surround apartment collapse | Real Estate Newsletter

Earlier this month, part of a Philly apartment’s parapet wall collapsed, sending bricks and cinder blocks plunging 50 feet onto the sidewalk below in a residential block.

Residents thought there’d been a gas explosion or earthquake. Luckily, no injuries were reported.

But people want answers. How does something like this happen? And how do they know it won’t happen again?

My colleagues went digging, and they found a couple of rogue roof decks and missing facade inspections.

Keep scrolling for that story and the rest of this week’s edition:

📮 Would you live inside a home that’s also a tourist attraction? Why or why not? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.

— Michaelle Bond

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The wall along the roof of the Darrah School Apartments in Francisville collapsed shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.

The building is managed by SBG Management Services, led by controversial landlord Philip Pulley. Last year, I wrote about the company being sued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, which accused SBG of operating unsafe and unsanitary apartments and charging residents thousands of dollars in retaliatory fees for complaining.

This is the same Philip Pulley who pleaded guilty last month to federal voter fraud charges. And The Inquirer found that 11 Philly apartment buildings managed by SBG have been linked to almost 1,000 building code violations.

Two years ago, in the city’s Logan section, a large piece of facade fell off a Pulley-run building.

This month, in Pulley’s first public comments about the collapse at Darrah School Apartments, he said: “Nobody knows why it fell. … It’s just one of those things.”

But after my colleagues started asking questions, the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections found that Pulley should have gotten the historic building’s facade inspected. And roof decks on the same side as the collapsed wall were built without permission from the city.

Residents of the block are worried that more of the building could come down.

I’ve written about the persistent problem of landlords refusing to accept tenants who use rent subsidies from the federal government.

But now, developers and landlords in Philly are showing more interest in housing vouchers. So what’s up?

Well, we’ve told you about all the apartments that have been built in the last few years. All that construction means renters have lots of options for where to live. And that means slower rent growth and more apartments sitting vacant. Landlords are in fierce competition with each other.

So more rental property owners are attracted to the promise of guaranteed rental income from the government. And then there’s the Philadelphia Housing Authority, which has been courting developers and landlords with cash and other incentives.

Keep reading to see how we got here and where landlords are actively marketing to tenants with housing vouchers.

Did anybody get the music reference at the top of the newsletter? It’s the title of a song released in 1988 by Philly’s own DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. It’s their take on the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street. I listen to it every October.

The next time this newsletter pops into your inbox will be on Halloween. It seems like my readers don’t go all out decorating for the holiday (or are too shy or humble to share photos with the class), but maybe you like looking at other people’s decorations. I do.

A local dad and Halloween enthusiast created an app that you can use to see which homeowners are showing off elaborate displays in their yards.

You also can use the free app to find professional haunted attractions. The app maps the best driving route to see as many as 10 sites in one trip.

The software engineer who created the app in 2022 said it has “exploded this year.” It now has about 150,000 users, and its database includes more than 2,000 sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

You’ve probably wondered just how much your neighbors are spending to transform their yards into creative and detailed Halloween attractions. Local home haunters says it’s “an embarrassing amount to say out loud.”

Sue and Rob Kettell are used to strangers walking through their home. Theirs is one of 32 restored brick rowhouses built in the 18th and early 19th centuries that together make up Elfreth’s Alley, a National Historic Landmark.

The Kettells love their 227-year-old home, and they often bring in tourists off the street to see inside. But they know living on a historic site isn’t for everyone. Floors are uneven, the radiators are clunky, and there’s no central air.

And, Rob said, “If you don’t want people staring into your window, don’t live here.”

The couple rented the home for a decade before they ended up buying it. They’ve kept the colonial-era feel of the home and have period-appropriate furniture they got from family and local shops. They refinished original red pine floors.

Peek inside their home and find out what happened in 1995 that finally pushed them to renovate the outdated kitchen.

I was disappointed when the movie theater I used to go to in Riverview Plaza in South Philly closed in 2020. Now Philly developer Bart Blatstein is bringing one back to the site, and the theater would be the largest one in South Philly and Center City.

Question: How many screens is Blatstein planning?

A) 10

B) 13

C) 17

D) 20

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.

I stumped you with last week’s photo quiz. That shot was taken at Race Street Pier.

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I’ll leave you with an interesting article about a piece of South Jersey real estate: Burlington Island.

As my teammate Kevin Riordan writes, many people in the Philly region aren’t aware that the Delaware River island exists. But I’ve always known. It’s not far from where I grew up, and I’ve always wanted to go to it. Especially after I learned that my best friend’s dad used to go to the amusement park there as a teen.

The island has been mostly inaccessible to the public for almost 50 years. But that could soon change.

I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to visit. Enjoy the rest of your week.

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