House of the week: A four-bedroom white brick Colonial in Elkins Park for $695,000
Set on a half-acre lot, the home's outdoor space has been elaborately landscaped with year-round plantings
Chip Hardie was finishing a tour as a submarine officer in the Navy in Virginia in 2014 when he and his wife, Courtney, started looking for a house to grow into and raise a family.
The four-bedroom, 3½-bath Colonial in Elkins Park needed work, but Chip had a new job in Philadelphia and the house checked all the boxes for potential.
The Hardies made numerous improvements over the next decade and added two children — a girl, now 7, and a boy, 3.
But for Courtney, an interior designer, and Chip, now a senior vice president of a commercial insurance brokerage, it’s time to move closer to their original home and family in Annapolis, Md.
The house is set on a half-acre lot that has been elaborately landscaped with year-round plantings.
“The heart of the home is the gourmet kitchen,” Courtney said, “with a breakfast bar, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances.”
The kitchen opens to an expanded rear addition currently used as a dining room, with Courtney’s office in what used to be the dining room.
The. second level has three bedrooms, including the primary suite, and a laundry room.
The third floor has a fourth bedroom with bath and could be used as an in-law suite.
The basement has numerous entertainment possibilities, including a billiard room with an antique pool table.
Outside, there is a new bluestone walkway, flagstone patio, covered side porch, fire pit, and two two-car garages.
Improvements over the years include new HVAC in 2020, new vinyl plank flooring, and pointing and painting the exterior of the house, chimney, and shutters.
“It’s a perfect turnkey house for someone looking for a move-in ready home,” Courtney said.
The house, built in 1940, has over 3,500 square feet of living space and is close to shops, parks, restaurants, and health-care facilities.
It is within walking distance of the Elkins Park Regional Rail station with easy access to Center City and the airport.
It is listed by Jeff Chirico of EXP Realty for $695,000.