Facelift for Philly’s biggest condo | Real Estate Newsletter

Across from the Philadelphia Museum of Art sits the city’s biggest condo building. Shinier and newer condos have popped up across greater Center City in recent years, but almost 1,200 people choose to live in the Philadelphian, which was completed in 1963.

What makes a condo buyer go for an older building instead of something new? And how are condos in their 60s trying to keep up with newly built ones? I set out to find some answers.

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

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A couple weeks ago, I took a tour of the Philadelphian. Specifically, I wanted to see what $18 million in renovations looks like.

Here’s a partial list of what I saw:

🛠️ a shiny new lobby with modern furniture and a new security desk at the front doors (The old “front” desk had been in the back of the lobby.)

🛠️ stone pavers that replaced concrete at the porte cochere out front

🛠️ a waterfall feature that replaced a weak fountain

🛠️ a revamped commercial plaza in the back that flows more seamlessly into the surrounding Fairmount neighborhood

The Philadelphian now also has a bigger mail room and a new space specifically to handle the almost 100,000 packages (!) that residents will receive this year. That’s not something the building needed when it was built in the early ‘60s.

Although some residents miss the character of the old lobby, the renovations are part of a plan to keep the building relevant for the next 60 years, management told me. Other Philly condo buildings in their 60s are also looking at how they can keep up with newer buildings.

One thing that works in older buildings’ favor: Philly condo residents tend to stay put, sometimes for decades. They aren’t easily lured away by different amenities or new construction.

Keep reading to learn more about Philly condos built decades or even a century ago and why buyers choose older buildings.

Republic used to be the largest commercial bank based in Philly. Then, in April, Pennsylvania regulators shut it down for being “unsafe and unsound.”

Now, a report that the N.J. Office of the Attorney General published this week says Republic systematically avoided lending to homebuyers in communities that are majority Black, Hispanic, or Asian in South Jersey.

The state’s investigation found that between 2018 and 2022, Republic did hardly any mortgage lending in these neighborhoods across Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, but it did “significant lending” in majority-white neighborhoods nearby.

That’s a form of mortgage redlining, when lenders avoid making home loans or deny mortgage applicants in certain neighborhoods based on the race or ethnicity of residents.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin called Republic’s practices “shameful.” His office is trying to get money for affected residents from Republic’s receiver. And the office plans to keep an eye on Fulton Bank, which took over Republic’s loan portfolio.

Keep reading to find out what else Republic did (or failed to do) for New Jersey’s homebuyers, according to the attorney general’s investigation.

You know it’s gonna be an interesting home tour when the property has its own name.

Mary Fran McLaughlin and Kevin Nolan named their Glen Mills home Big Run after the creek that starts on their property.

But that’s not the only thing that makes their home special. They built a three-acre meadow of wildflowers on their seven-acre property.

The land is what attracted the couple. It definitely wasn’t the property’s dilapidated, seemingly unlivable house, which didn’t have heat or water. But in 2011, McLaughlin and Nolan moved on in.

“It was like camping,” Nolan said. “We used a porta potty, and a gym membership for showers.”

The homeowners hired an architect and built a new, 3,200-square-foot house with a wraparound porch. Nolan says “this house is all about outdoor living.”

See the property that’s hosted four weddings and find out what the couple did with the old rundown house.

Philly City Council voted to ban drivers from stopping in any of the city’s bike lanes — even for a few minutes. The decision follows several high-profile collisions in which drivers hit bicyclists and pedestrians. Some homeowners have objected to the ban, saying they need to load and unload cars and that the restriction hurts people with disabilities.

Question: In Center City, how much will drivers be fined if they stop in a bike lane?

A) $35

B) $75

C) $125

D) $150

This story has the answer.

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Shout out to Janet P., Deborah S., and Sonia H. for knowing that last week’s newsletter featured a photo of a get-out-the-vote mural in LOVE Park.

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If you can’t get enough of themed Airbnbs, here’s a temporary one in North Jersey with a vibe fit for Halloween.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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