Category development

Morgan Hall has changed the face of Temple University

A face lift for North Broad St

 

 

Quite literally.

A lot of people don’t know this (including many Philadelphians), but Temple University is now home to over 35,000 students; that’s a big number for a dense, urban campus. Now, not all of those students are undergraduates, but 35,000 is an impressive number nonetheless. For comparison’s sake, UPenn has close to 25,000 students and Drexel also has close to 25,000 students.

So, if University City has over 50,000 students (with just Penn and Drexel alone), what’s next for the neighborhood in-around Temple’s campus? My professional opinion is that TU will soon become a Philadelphia “mini-hub” (just like Center City, University City, and the Navy Yard have). It’s only 2 miles from City Hall, it has a huge educational/medical/legal presence, and most of the campus has frontage on Broad St; all good things.

As a Philadelphia based real estate agent, my job is to know the local market and educate my clients on what is happening in/around the city. In Philadelphia, colleges play a large role in the city’s economic vitality. From student rentals to financial opportunities for real estate investors, Philadelphia’s colleges have a large daily impact on the entire Philadelphia MSA.

The reason I am blogging about this is because recent private/public development shows that the area in/around Temple is definitely on the rise.

Since I was an undergraduate student at La Salle from 1997-2001, I like to compare how things are today to how they were when I was in college. And in my days as a student, Temple was more well known for commuting than living on/around campus. Reason being, TU only has enough on-campus housing for 5,000-7,500 students (the last I heard; so don’t quote me on that, as the most recent figure was hard to locate), and you can’t live on-campus as a Junior or Senior.

This creates a huge off-campus housing opportunity for Temple’s 35,000+ undergraduate/graduate students.

All told, I think there are currently 12,000-15,000 TU students living on/around campus (again, don’t quote me on that as the numbers seemed to vary from source to source). In the grand scheme of things, that’s a pretty small number for a school of 35,000+. Which means there is more room for growth.

This is a big reason why the Temple University area is doing so well from a real estate perspective. Demand is high, and supply is low. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago that TU students created a strong, visible demand to live off/around campus; close enough to walk. Thus, real estate values have skyrocketed around TU in recent years (even during the downturn), and the boundaries for TU’s off-campus student area are expanding every year.

As you can also see from Temple’s 20/20 Plan, there is even more in store for their main campus in the years ahead.

Read the article about Morgan Hall, and learn how this university backed development project has changed the face of Temple forever.

Let’s Trade: Multiple City-Owned Vacant Lots and Houses – FOR – 31 New / Mixed-Use / Eco-Friendly Homes

These roof decks should have awesome views!

 
I would say that’s a good deal.

All kidding aside, it wasn’t an actual trade but a purchase by a private developer for city-owned real estate. Nonetheless, it will be a nice change for an already-on-fire neighborhood. Postgreen’s Folsom Powerhouse project promises a few things to its future customers: Convenient Mixed-Use Development, Energy Efficient Design, and Affordable Units for Varying Income Levels. Based on Postgreen’s past development history, I’d say it’s doable.

Francisville is going through a building boom right now, due to its highly-accessible location (right next to Fairmount and Center City) and an abundance of vacant lots. Well, there used to be an abundance of them. Most have either been bought by developers, or are being developed as we speak.

If you’ve never heard of Francisville before, you’re not alone. Most residents of this area refer to the entire 19130 zip code as either Fairmount or the Art Museum Area. It’s the locals who have lived there for a long time (sometimes for generations), that know the difference between Fairmount and Francisville.

The unofficial borders of Francisville are Girard Ave (North), Broad St (East), Fairmount Ave (South), and Corinthian Ave (West). These are the borders typically listed online, and they are also the ones that real estate agents use most often. Again, since I’m not a Francisville local, I apologize for any errors with defining your neighborhood.

So, why is Francisville being reinvented?

There are a few reasons why (IMHO):

1) Its Location: Francisville is super-conveniently located just east of Fairmount (which has been going through positive neighborhood changes for a few decades now), and just north of Center City (which allows those who work downtown to either walk, bike, or hop on the subway during their daily commute).

2) Its Changing Demographic: The new residents seeking shelter in Francisville are typically young professionals, families, and empty nesters. The same type of people who are currently buying in Center City. They want access to Center City (and its surrounding area/amenities), but do not want to pay Center City prices (per sq/ft). Hot real estate, for less money, equals high demand.

3) Its Housing Stock: Due to the large proliferation of vacant lots in Francisville, it has allowed developers to get in fairly easily, build what they want, and still make a good profit (probably better than most Philadelphia neighborhoods). New construction townhomes/condos, with upgraded amenities and roof decks, is the most common theme. All for less than what you would pay for similar real estate in Center City (most of the time). On top of that, there are many different new construction homes to choose from due to all of the new development; so buyers can be a little picky, even though the current trend is slowly changing to a seller’s market. In a neighborhood like Rittenhouse Square, new construction is hard to find due to its denser, and more established, layout.

There are more reasons why Philadelphians are flocking to this small section of the city, but I’ll let you do a little Google’ing on your own to learn more about why Francisville is one of Philadelphia’s 10 hottest neighborhoods for real estate.

“The Oval” is just one small example of how Philadelphia is embracing its public spaces

 
As stated by Harris Steinberg in this article, Philadelphia has a sense of “renewed urbanity.” That’s a great way of putting it, but it requires more reading to fully understand it.

The Oval is a great example of Philadelphia’s new found embrace of its public spaces, but it’s definitely not the only one. Sister Cities Park and the Race Street Pier are other relevant examples or reusing what we have.

In the last 10 years or so, Center City has truly taken off. Not only from a real estate agent’s perspective, but from a resident’s perspective as well.

Back during my undergrad days at La Salle University (that’s right, the recent NCAA “Sweet 16 Cinderella”), from 1997-2001, Center City was almost an afterthought for people my age. Unless you went to Penn or Drexel, you really didn’t venture down there that often; unless there was a specific reason to (e.g. museums, famous sandwiches, etc.). In other words, people in their late-teens/early-twenties were more focused on Manayunk. Don’t get me wrong, there was definitely a lot of development going on in Center City during the last boom, but it was different than it is today.

It’s interesting how things change so fast. That was only 15 years ago.

Now, Center City is booming. So much so that it has inspired University City to get up and form solid working relationships with their local universities and hospitals, while also breaking borders with their own neighborhoods in/around Center City. These days, when people refer to Center City, they are thinking beyond 19103, 19102, 19107, and 19106. They are talking about Fairmount, Graduate Hospital, Bella Vista, among others.

That is what has been happening since my undergrad days.

Center City is no longer a place to either work or party, it has become a way of life; a true urban lifestyle. Whether you go to school, go to work, or raise a family, there are almost too many things to do on a daily basis. Bike lanes have started to slow down cars, new parks (as well as skate parks, pop-up gardens, and parklets) host weekly events, and the Ben Franklin Parkway is now pedestrian friendly.

Really?

Who would have thought this was all possible in 15 years, and today it’s moving faster than it ever has. Which means there is a lot more to come, especially on the back of a new real estate boom.

Manayunk is still an awesome place to be (as I live in the area, and know it well), but even that has changed. When I frequented Main Street in 2000, almost every bar catered to a college crowd. Now we have Han Dynasty, Cooper’s, and the highly-anticipated spots Rubb and Taqueria Feliz. On top of all that, a new state-of-the-art charter school is being built just off of Ridge Ave in Roxborough.

Things are changing for the better.

Why am I even talking about all of this, and what does it mean? It means that living within Philadelphia’s city limits has gone beyond its gimmicky reasons for visiting and/or hanging out just 15 years ago.

It means that being a Philadelphian today (whether you are a student, young professional, family, or empty nester), makes you a part of something special.