We confess that we don't make it to the Wissahickon neighborhood very often. As you've probably noticed, we generally keep watch on the neighborhoods in greater Center City… and we also hate driving on I-76. But when someone reaches out to us with a tip, we've been known to make the hike. And that's what brought us to the Sumac and Kalos Streets, two blocks that sit between Ridge Avenue and the Wissahickon Creek. Specifically, today we're looking at 150 Kalos St., a former vacant lot, and the adjacent 145 Sumac St., a combination of a vacant lot and a historic home.
Last year, according to a Newsworks story, developers from Trinity Realty Companies came up with a plan to build ten new homes on these two properties, with five on each side. That's well and good, but it would have meant the demolition of the home at 145 Sumac St., and some members of the Wissahickon Interested Citizens Associaton had a problem with that. A story from Philly Voice indicates that the building has historic qualities, with Eastlake Victorian Styling and having once been owned by the Holt family. The parties went back and forth, and eventually the developers agreed to change their plan and preserve the building. Today we see that five homes have indeed been framed out on Kalos Street, with two more coming soon on Sumac Street. The building at 145 Sumac Street is getting renovated as we speak.
We're always fond of seeing developers find a middle ground with the community, and the building on Sumac Street certainly doesn't look like many others we've seen around town. The new homes will be a fine addition to the area, filling in vacant spots on desirable blocks. The developers don't have price points in mind just yet, but we'd guess that demand will be high for these properties once they're complete.