In West Philly

Penn's campus ends at 40th Street on the western side and on Chestnut Street to the north, but student housing extends for many blocks in both directions. While Penn students have lived off campus forever, the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the distance that students are willing to travel to

As we push through the dog days of summer, we're starting to feel those September vibes. The Birds are playing their third pre-season game this week. Pumpkin spice is starting to be a thing again. And college students in the region are starting to move back to campus, setting their sights on

It was back in the winter of 2012 that we first brought the former Apple Storage building at 780 S. 52nd St. to your attention, as developers pursued a plan to convert the former industrial building into 112 apartments. The plan sparked controversy in this changing section of West Philadelphia,

We were traveling around West Philadelphia the other day and stumbled upon a property that felt as if it had looked quite different not so long ago. Looking at the Google Maps Time Machine, we confirmed our suspicion that indeed, 525 N. 41st St. has changed considerably of late. For decades,

Later this summer, developers Temple Nest Apartments will got to the ZBA, seeking a variance to build a four-story building at 3526 Mount Vernon St., on a parcel that's currently sitting vacant. The building, as proposed, would contain 18 apartments which we have to think would target a student population, given

It's true that there's very little room for Penn to expand its footprint on the edges of campus, though the university has continued to build new buildings over the last several years. Two of those buildings, the creatively named New College House and the rather derivatively named New College House

Given its location at 4200 Chester Ave., a stone's throw from both Penn and University of the Sciences, you might expect that Millcreek Tavern would lean heavily into the neighboring student population and work hard to attract that demographic. And sure, students find their way through the door, but the bar/restaurant is

It was just a few months ago that we directed your attention to the Good Shepherd Community Church building at 314 S. 46th St., noting that the church was moving on from its longtime home and that developers had the property under agreement. This is an incredibly common story in Philadelphia in 2019,

It wasn't so many years ago that Penn students seeking to live close to campus had a very limited number of options that ranged from dorms to off-campus apartments that hadn't been renovated in a generation. Times have changed, and it's been quite dramatic. Developers have built countless duplexes, triplexes,

When we think about West Philadelphia, wonderful architecture is one of the first things that comes to mind. With a mix of Victorian homes with colorfully painted bays and a range of aesthetically pleasing apartment buildings, we can geek out in numerous West Philly neighborhoods for hours on end. As we've detailed over the