Just Listed: Starter Condo Atop the Academy House
If you want to experience life at the top, you have to pay the price. You can probably handle the price you have to pay for this top-floor condo, however. Even after you tack on the condo fee.
Bright? Check. Sunny? Check. Spacious? You can’t have it all, but you can get a lot for a reasonable price with this condo atop the Academy House at 1420 Locust St. #37J, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 | Bright MLS images (using VisualStager in the apartment) via BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors
You know the old real estate saying: The three most important things about a piece of property are location, location and location.
In which case, this simple condo on the Academy House’s 37th floor hits the trifecta.
And because it’s a simple condo, it’s yours for a reasonable price, even after you factor in the condo fee.
Like many units in the Academy House, this one has some quirks besides the ones introduced by the virtual staging.
For starters, you enter this unit through its bedroom.
Bedroom
The bedroom has a window with a view to the south and three closets — a hall closet, a linen closet and a walk-in closet off the dressing area.
Bathroom
This unit’s bathroom has entrances from both the dressing area and the hallway.
Kitchen
Just past the bathroom, the kitchen also offers a southern view. Its design and appliances may look rather plain, but everything’s well maintained, and it has an attractive tile backsplash.
If you like sunsets, you will appreciate the view to the west you get from the large living-room window.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, one reason this condo is so reasonably priced besides its modest square footage is because it’s about as far from fancy as one can get and still live in a Center City high-rise. Save for the 1970s parquet floor in its kitchen, it doesn’t have hardwood floors. And while it’s been very well maintained, it’s not what you’d call au courant.
Aquatic center
FItness center
But that’s all okay, because the building makes up for this with its community amenities. These include an indoor aquatic center with two endless pools and a whirlpool tub, a fully-equipped fitness center, a community room and an outdoor courtyard. The building also has a 24-hour door person.
Academy House main entrance
And, of course, it’s located in a distinctive landmark right next to the Academy of Music, just off the Avenue of the Arts, and a short walk from everything you like about Center City living: Rittenhouse Square, Rittenhouse Row, City Hall and Dilworth Park, Chestnut Street shopping, the Gayborhood and Washington Square. You probably won’t need to use the many SEPTA transit routes that stop within a block or two of your building unless you work in the ’burbs or want to get out of town.
Assuming you have your down payment in place, between the mortgage payment and the condo fee, this Academy House condo for sale should cost you $2,200 a month. If that seems pricey for a rather plain one-bedroom apartment, read on. When you take into account what the condo fee covers, you’re getting a really nice bargain in a great starter condo.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 1
BATHS: 1
SQUARE FEET: 656
SALE PRICE: $225,000
OTHER STUFF: While we can’t figure out why you would need a car when you live here, if you have one, you can park it in the building’s valet garage for an additional monthly fee. In addition to covering building and common area maintenance and facilities access, the $614.28 monthly condo fee covers all your utilities, including cable TV and high-speed Internet service.
1420 Locust St. #37J, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 [Johanna Loke and Jody Dmitruk | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]
