The Spak Group is working on transforming a 15-year blighted home, known around the neighborhood as the dump house, into a three-unit market-rate treat. The property in question, 629 S. 49th St., is located less than a block north of Baltimore Avenue. You could almost shout hello to folks entering Mariposa from here.

Blight indeed

Looking south

Before the Spak Group acquired the property early this winter for $85K, the previous owner had made an agreement with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) about renovating the home. But the owner passed and maintenance of the home was left to his widow. When the Spak Group came in they had to agree to follow PRA guidelines, which stated 18% of businesses involved in its renovation must be minority-owned, and 50% must be local.

Ryan Spak, owner of Spak Group, said the interior of the home, formerly a squatter’s heaven, was a disaster with debris that filled fifteen dumpsters. They started work on this $200K-plus project on March 1. Thus far, the first two floors and most of the third have been rebuilt. When finished (they are shooting for September 1), Spak plans to reduce the number of units from five to three, which will require a nod from Cedar Park Neighbors, and lease the property, or else make it available for market-rate purchase sometime in August.

Another view

“The immaculate condition of the brickwork” first caught Spak’s eye and attracted him to this property. When he checked the structure out, he found a 65-foot long 10-inch thick steel I-beam holding the building up that let him know the property’s foundation was good and that the damage, which he deduced was caused by water, was repairable.

It ought be mentioned that Spak is the new staffer recently hired by the University District to manage its Project Rehab initiative aimed at connecting owners with resources they need to repair blighted homes. In our initial Project Rehab post, we incorrectly mentioned Spak was hired by UCD full-time for the position. It is actually a part-time position. Spak works at the UCD office two days a week. Every month, Spak discloses information to the UCD about the contractors and banks he has worked with at his own company. Their goal is transparency, he explained.

Kudos to Spak’s vision for renovating the old home and his and the UCD’s proactive position on handling blight in West Philly. In case you were wondering, here’s a look at what this home was before Spak arrived on the scene:

Trees appear to be growing out of the house.

–Lou Mancinelli