On the Market: Split-Level Condo in Francisville
Conveniently located right on Ridge Avenue, this sunny, modern split-level condo comes close to being able to run itself thanks to smart home technology.
In a few months, you should have a few more neighbors living next to you if you buy this split-level condo on rapidly-rebuilding Ridge Avenue. Actually, you enter it from Ogden Street at its rear, but its street address is 1623 Ridge Ave. #2, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 | Bright MLS images via Delphi Property Group
In case you haven’t been paying attention these past five years or so, Francisville is on the rise. The neighborhood where William Penn kept his vineyard has been filled with the buzz of power saws and the bang of hammers almost constantly since the early 2000s. Back in 2002, when native Penelope Giles founded the Francisville Neighborhood Development Corporation, the goal for the organization was a simple one: to put the neighborhood back on the map and revive its main street, Ridge Avenue.
The journey from then to now has occasionally been bumpy, but Giles has largely achieved the first goal and is well on the way to achieving the second. What was once a thoroughfare pockmarked with empty lots and abandoned structures is now almost completely lined with mixed-use buildings with street-floor retail facing “the Ridge” and apartments and condominiums above.
Real estate broker Jamie Weiner and his wife moved into one of those condominiums a few years ago. Built in 2015, it’s a unique split-level condo in a four-story building on a lot with a 135-degree angle in its middle. And as you can see from the photo above, this Francisville split-level condo for sale is getting two new neighbors to its east. (The face this condo presents to Ridge Avenue is also a notch above the rather bland facades found on most modern residential structures built hereabouts of late, like the building to its west.)
Entrance on Ogden Street
You enter this condo via a gated entrance in the back of the building, on Ogden Street. The pathway from the gate leads to a stairway that leads to both this condo and the unit above it. The front door opens right into the open main living area, which faces Ogden.
Main living area
Main living area, view towards Ogden Street
Even though the room’s windows face north, their large size combined with the open space between the building and Ogden Street mean that plenty of natural light fills this space.
Smart home controls
Right next to the front door you will find the brains of this house: Lutron Caseta lighting controls, Nest thermostat, intercom system, controls for the three Haiku ceiling fans (one in each room) and QMotion wireless remote-controlled window treatments. Even the Yale lock on the front door is Wi-Fi enabled, and every room in this condo has Cat5 Ethernet wiring.
Don’t let all this techno-wizardry intimidate you, though. Everything about this house is easy to understand. Especially the flexibility its wedge-shaped main floor offers.
Kitchen
The kitchen is just as smartly equipped, with sable cabinetry, Meganite countertops, a Frigidaire French-door refrigerator, five-burner gas range and built-in microwave and a quiet Bosch dishwasher.
Lower bedroom
Upper bedroom
The stairs to the left of the front door lead to this condo’s two bedrooms — one upstairs, one downstairs. Both are identical in size, and both get loads of light through their southwest-facing windows. The upper bedroom is currently used as a den.
You may note that, like many a modern residence, this condo has walls painted in neutral colors that can handle whatever you want to hang on them. The bathrooms, however, are a different story.
Lower bathroom
Upper bathroom
The two bathrooms in this Francisville split-level condo for sale are identically outfitted with double vanities, tubs with rain shower heads, and Porcelanosa tile on the floors and tub/shower surrounds. But their walls are color riots: a psychedelic green pattern below and nature scenes reminiscent of Chinese prints above.
The laundry, water heater and climate control systems are all energy-efficient, making this condo an even better value. And, of course, those Haiku fans help the climate control system work even more efficiently.
All of this comes with convenience built in as well. “My wife and I love living in Francisville because of its location close to everything,” Weiner says in an email. “The Broad Street Line is always a five-minute walk away, you can walk to Rittenhouse Square in 15 minutes, its access to Kelly Drive, Fairmount Park and the Art Museum is great. We also love the local shops like Tela’s Market, Bar Hygge, and Rybread, and the convenience of having a liquor store, pharmacy, hardware store, pizza shop and post office all within walking distance from our home.”
They’re moving to be closer to his wife’s job in the ’burbs, and as a result, you now get a chance to enjoy all those convenient attractions. And there have been some more added recently: a great Italian restaurant in the Divine Lorraine Hotel and an Aldi supermarket in the new apartment building next to it, both right atop that Broad Street Line subway stop.
And you will enjoy them from a sunny, spacious, smartly outfitted split-level condo right in the middle of Francisville.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 2
BATHS: 2
SQUARE FEET: 1,594
SALE PRICE: $445,999
OTHER STUFF: A $226 monthly condo fee covers building and common area insurance and maintenance. This condo’s sale price has been reduced twice, most recently by $4,000 on March 15th.
1623 Ridge Ave. #2, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 [Jamie Weiner | Delphi Property Group]
