In Strawberry Mansion housing runs the gambit from centuries old, protected historic mansions to the vacant, burnt-out shells of abandoned residences. The neighborhood also offers a nearly three-mile stretch of scenic and leisurely driving on Kelly Drive following the Schuylkill River’s eastern bank through Fairmount Park with views of some of the oldest homes in the city.
The historically preserved mansions in Strawberry Mansion date back to the late 1700s. Today they are tourist stops–destinations for a peek into the past. During the holiday’s they even don historic decorations. Tour guides are available on site to walk interested onlookers through the halls of these stately homes, viewing holiday spreads that are laid out in the rooms to illustrate what a Philadelphia family would have done to celebrate.
The Philadelphia Historical Society was created in 1955 by the City Council. It is responsible for the historic preservation of significant buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors and districts in the city of Philadelphia, said Jonathan E. Farnham, executive director of the Philadelphia Historical Commission.
“The commission reviews all building permit applications for all 21,000 properties listed on the Philadelphia Register,” said Farnham. “Anyone may nominate a property. Owner consent is not required.”
The commission nominates few properties. That is usually left to individuals, civic associations and preservation advocacy groups. Though the Historical Commission does not purchase, own or rehabilitate properties, it ensures that work is done according to historic preservation standards.
With the exception of the mansions in Fairmount Park, few properties are designated as historic in the Strawberry Mansion area, said Farnham. Several years ago, the commission had conversations with an unnamed neighborhood group about creating a historic district in Strawberry Mansion, but nothing ever came of the initiative.
“There are many properties in Strawberry Mansion that have architectural and/or historical significance,” said Farnham. “I would assume that so few have been renovated for market-rate reuse because the market cannot support costs of such projects. It appears that there is little demand for rehabilitated historic buildings in this area.”
Converting vacant and historic properties into low income housing is much more common in the Strawberry Mansion
neighborhood because of the need and the prevalence of vacant properties.
“North Philly has a lot of vacant houses around, so, they need to be fixed up,” said Wendy Dennis, a Strawberry Mansion resident. “There are people that have been there for years and they raised their children up and they just got old and I guess they couldn’t handle their homes anymore.”
Many unkept houses become breeding grounds for destruction, drug use and arson. Strawberry Mansion is home to 22,562 residents and the area is more than 75 percent residential, containing 11,471 individual properties. Nearly 20 percent are vacant, compared to Philadelphia’s 7 percent vacancy rate.
An effective solution to the degradation of neighborhoods when vacancy becomes an issue is the Vacant Property Security system. It is the newest weapon in the fight against vacancy.
Instead of the traditional techniques, such as boards, used to deter would-be squatters, vandals or arsonists the VPS system is made up of a heavy gauge steel protection system that bolts to the structure covering all doors, windows and gangways. The steel is zinc coated to allow for easy graffiti removal.
“We turn the property into a fortress so it’s not penetrated by unwanted elements,” said Rob Geller, the director of sales for VPS. “The system is perforated to allow air and sunlight so the building doesn’t get ‘sick building syndrome’ when there’s a lot of bacterial growth.”
The perforated shields also let light shine through allowing for work to be done inside the residences during the daytime hours. Entrances to buildings are lit at night by solar-powered lighting systems, which makes the property safer and detracts vandals said Geller.
“By and large there are three main reasons to use VPS,” he said. “Property resale and re-rental value, prevent crime and to make sure the tax base and revenue base is maintained.”
VPS is a European company based in Chicago. Over the past 10 years in Philadelphia VPS has had thousands contracts with the private owners and contractors, the city’s Redevelopment Authority, Temple University and the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
Right now in Strawberry Mansion there are eight properties outfitted with the VPS system costing $170 per month per property. Six are part of the 300 Scattered Site Rehabilitation Project, a city-wide rehabilitation initiative paid for through federal stimulus money, said Tillman.
Read another article about housing in Brewerytown
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I TRULY wish this approach was introduced in the 80’s! It HURTS to see SO MANY of these buildings get knocked-down when it is so UNNECESSARY! I couldn’t tell ANYONE as to just how many I have seen get demo’d in ANY ONE YEAR in Philly. I’m almost 35 yrs old ;/