Meet the Builders Tour: Old Kensington. The Recap.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our  Meet the Builders Tour in Old Kensington - it was a great evening in an exciting neighborhood with some new construction to match.

We started off at 1353-57 Mascher St, which gave us sunny bedrooms, handsome floors, and endless views of the city from the deck. We sipped some "House" wine and snacked on quesadillas, sopes, and chips from nearby taqueria, Taco Riendo.  Then David Gleeson (Crane Arts and other development projects) stopped by to clue us in on new construction in Kensington South/Old Kensington and the future of the neighborhood. What we learned?  Old Kensington is a prime example of how developers will follow the artists to an under-tapped neighborhood. The advice? Invest now, while prices are still within reach.

After that, we took a quick walk over to 3rd Street to the Flats at Girard Pointe, where this successful project already has owners moved in. We toured an unfinished unit that was waiting for custom finishings and a unit that was recently completed.  One owner was even kind enough to have his home available to view and he walked us through his stunning and spacious oasis. It was an unexpected surprise and our tourgoers loved it.  Developer Jeff Tubbs then hosted drinks and snacks at his own flat.

For the final leg of our tour, we had scheduled a walk through the Crane Arts Building during 2nd Thursday, which is just a quick walk from the Flats at Girard Pointe. One of the owners, Nicholas Kripal, started with the history of the building and then took us through some of the artists studios so that we could see how it all worked.  Kripal is a Ceramics Teacher at Tyler School of Art and is an important and respected member of the art community in Philadelphia.  He talked about some upcoming projects that they are working on, so stay tuned for more from the visionaries behind Crane Arts.

So, thank you to those who were involved and those who spent their Thursday evening with us. We hope you will join us again soon. And as always, for information on Old Kensington and what's happening there, explore more on our blog.