XPost: phl.media   
   From: kybyrd@pobox.upenn.edu   
      
   On Sun, 03 Aug 2003 08:56:34 -0400, Me  wrote:   
      
   >Well, I live in the burbs now. I moved to an apartment in NJ six years   
   >ago from Philly. I am seriously considering buying a house in the next   
   >year and I am considering a move back to Philly if I can find an   
   >affordable home in a trendy Philly neighborhood such as Northern   
   >Liberties, Fairmount, etc.   
      
   If you are considering a move you had better do it soon   
   because you may not be able to afford it if you don't!   
      
   I live in Spring Garden, near Broad, and the "tone" of Fairmount   
   is finally reaching east of 20th St. New townhouses at 19th and Fairmount   
   sold in no time. More new townhouses are going up near 17th   
   and Fairmount Ave. Places that had been abandoned are starting to   
   be rehabbed along Fairmount Ave. in Spring Garden. A former homeless   
   shelter at 18th and Green Sts is being gutted and rehabbed. Other   
   houses in the 1500 block of Green are being rehabbed.   
      
   New townhouses are going up in Fairmount at 24th St. A new condo complex   
   (Tivoli) is going to go up at 19th and Hamilton(Franklin Town).   
   There was another condo project announced at  20th and Callowhill   
   but the sign has been taken down so that one may be on hold.   
   The former Korman Suites hotel, at 20th and Hamilton, is now condos(CityView).   
      
   And in my own building(the Colonnade), which has been condos for about 10   
   years,   
   I probably couldn't buy my own condo now which I bought in 1995.   
      
   Things are bubbling in Spring Garden/Fairmount!   
      
   There's some new housing going up in Northern Liberties but there   
   the development, so far, is mostly wrt new restaurants on 3rd and 2nd   
   Sts. You might have better luck finding something that's still affordable   
   in Northern Liberties.   
      
   >I am not very worried about being a victim of a violent crime. Most   
   >violent crimes involve domestic disputes or illegal drug use. In   
   >addition, most violent crimes tend to take place in run-down areas such   
   >as North Philly where I would not consider living.   
      
   I have some hope that some of what's happening in eastern Spring Garden,   
   along Fairmount Ave, may filter into more of lower N. Philly. I read   
   a couple of days ago that someone has bought the old Father Divine   
   hotel at Broad and Fairmount and wants to make apartments out of it.   
   It's a great looking building that has a lot of potential so keep   
   your fingers crossed for what might happen around it!   
      
   KByrd   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)