Anyone living in Francisville?

**Francisville** · 03-03-2010, 09:37 PM

We're in our early 30's looking to move either to Francisville or S. Philly. We know S. Philly better than we know F-ville. We like that S. Philly is more diverse than F-ville. But F-ville is a lot closer to our jobs.

We found some houses for sale near 17th and Parrish and Wylie Street and we know that the western part (playground to Corinthian) of the F-ville is more desirable than the easern part (17-Broad St). However we can't afford the more desirable area.

I'm curious to hear what people who have recently moved to this area think about the neighborhood. There is not much going on near that area except the Arts Garage. However, we're more concerned about safety and the future of the neighborhoods. Most of the houses/properties on the block are owned by PHA. A few friends have adviced us not to purchase houses near properties owned by PHA. Please let us know what you know and think. Thanks much.

**Dayman** · 03-03-2010, 09:55 PM

If your job is in the city find somewhere not on the gentrification border.

I wouldn't live there.

**eldondre** · 03-03-2010, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by Francisville

We're in our early 30's looking to move either to Francisville or S. Philly. We know S. Philly better than we know F-ville. We like that S. Philly is more diverse than F-ville. But F-ville is a lot closer to our jobs.
We found some houses for sale near 17th and Parrish and Wylie Street and we know that the western part (playground to Corinthian) of the F-ville is more desirable than the easern part (17-Broad St). ...
I'm curious to hear what people who have recently moved to this area think about the neighborhood. There is not much going on near that area except the Arts Garage. However, we're more concerned about safety and the future of the neighborhoods. Most of the houses/properties on the block are owned by PHA. A few friends have adviced us not to purchase houses near properties owned by PHA. Please let us know what you know and think. .

I live in francisville.
This may be the PS debut of el's doughnut theory. Unlike SG which changed from the inside out, Francisville is developing like a doughnut. the best area is to the west followed by the south, then the north, and the east (which isn't great, but crimewise, Broad ain't that bad). At the center is PHA goodness. Now, Parrish and Wylie don't actually meet but you said houses so I'm guessing one is on wylie, the other may be the fixer upper for sale on Francis near parrish which recently dropped $40k in price. Until the hankin project has broken ground, i'd go with francis st over wylie because wylie takes you down the north side of the park which is pretty desolate (an entire abandoned block which is supposed to become hankin's new development). francis st is more populated (and closer to the edge of the doughnut). moreover, it's a straight shot down 17th to fairmount ave (17 spot, stone's, a decent bodega at wallace, and st. stephen's green which will quickly become your friend as the best restaurant in the area).
couple of things: during the morning rush if i were close to ridge, I'd walk down ridge to the subway but at night, I'd take fairmount to 17th even if it were out of the way.

now for the neighborhood
the good: the park, great little park, nice pool. location. about 20 min to center city walking, close to the subway, trolley to northern liberties. we haven't had any issues since moving here. the people we've met have been friendly. there's still slow and steady development scattered across the neighborhood, fairmount ave itself is filling out, s despite the downturn things continue to improve. the trees. you're still easy walking distance to things in fairmount but it's easier to get elsewhere in the city. coo's at broad and parrish is a decent place to catch a game. the eastern edge of fairmount continues to add new businesses (slowly). we walk to the new supermarket and movie theater on north broad in nice weather.
the bad: not enough businesses serving the area. can't board at fairmount subway stop after 9 p. crime remains a problem in certain areas of the neighborhood, particularly the central area of ridge from PHA homes (poplar) to wylie/parrish. like i said, it's not a simple east-west scenario even if prices indicate that, the ridge area noted is worse than towards broad.

the other: there are a lot of good people in the neighborhood and the neighborhood group is reasonable about development. development pressures come from spring garden, fairmount, and temple (south, west, and north). the housing stock is extremely diverse (the odd street pattern is because the area was once penn's vineyard (vineyard st) and centered off ridge) and you may find a nicer house than in south philly

we're in the same situation and considering the same thing. we're leaning towards south philly as renters but if we were buying just not, we would seriously consider francisville since we believe it's location will be enough to continue its improvement as a place to live. there's little need for displacement as there are enough vacant lots. the biggest downside is the PHA presence though I understand they are to downsize that presence. feel free to pm me about a specific location or post in the francisville forum.
other threads:
http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...ncisville.html
http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...fairmount.html
and perhaps most notably
http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...isville-4.html

**redpinstripes** · 03-03-2010, 10:29 PM

I came across a couple of places in the "diagonal" section of Francisville (Perkiomen) that were great when I was looking to buy a little over 1.5 years ago. As a somewhat worldly single male, I was intrigued but ultimately decided agaisnt b/c I have a small, pretty girlfriend and there was definitley some sketch factor. She wouldnt have felt safe - by a long shot.

Also, at the time, prices didnt seem quite right. Prices may have retreated now - havent checked. All in all it seemed a great opportunity, but somewhat fraught and not guaranteed to pay off. The PHA issue was a concern of mine as well.

If you have the stomach for it, it could be a great call. If safety and long-term are foremost, I think you'll end up doing something different. There is a lot to like there, some really nice housing stock, but "if you have to ask...", it prolly aint for you.

Hopefully, someone who lives there will offer an opinion on the realities. To my mind, it was still the province of risk-takers who have some savvy.

**The Rox** · 03-06-2010, 12:30 PM

I actually work for a start-up real estate company on the border of Francisville and the Temple U area and we are currently working with a lot of clients in the area. One of our consultants actually lives in South Philadelphia at 15th & Mole if you're interested in that neighborhood as well.

If you would like some assistance looking at properties in either neighborhood, please let me know so I can assist. Our company is called Brown McKinney and we were founded by young professionals who love working, living, and spending time in Philadelphia.

Please check out our website or feel free to view my blog.

Best of luck with your search.

Tim

**MERKIN** · 03-07-2010, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Dayman

If your job is in the city find somewhere not on the gentrification border.

I wouldn't live there.

but you would live in Kensington?

**Dayman** · 03-07-2010, 10:07 PM

It's not like it was my choice. Trust me, I'm getting out of here asap.

**eldondre** · 03-07-2010, 10:12 PM

walked around the neighborhood today, there's been more renovations than i'd realized. also reminded me that it's really a pleasant neighborhood on nice days but has some bad blocks. I definitely think it's worth considering but you still want to be careful since it really is block by block.I was at 17th and brown/perkiomen and it was really nice, yet 16th and brown is crappy. hard to believe how much difference a block can make

**Dayman** · 03-07-2010, 11:06 PM

I believe it. My block tonight coming home was full of kids playing with their parents watching them from their porches.

The block over is full of junkies and dealers shady as always.

**decktiles** · 03-14-2010, 09:51 AM

We found some houses for sale near 17th and Parrish and Wylie Street and we know that the western part (playground to Corinthian) of the F-ville is more desirable than the easern part (17-Broad St). However we can't afford the more desirable area.
decktiles

**MERKIN** · 03-14-2010, 09:58 AM

you should try up our way. i think f-ville is over rated. its got its perks being close to china town but its still a dump and no one should pay too much for a dump. our area is a dump but at least you can pay dump prices and we have fairmount park and you can still walk to cc.

**thoth** · 03-14-2010, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by MERKIN

you should try up our way. i think f-ville is over rated. its got its perks being close to china town but its still a dump and no one should pay too much for a dump. our area is a dump but at least you can pay dump prices and we have fairmount park and you can still walk to cc.

Walking to CC from Brewerytown is a bit of stretch. You can do it, but it will take you a good 30-40 minutes, it's not quite a skip down the lane. The average person isn't going to be walking much farther than Fairmount. In Francisville it's maybe 15-20 to CC.

I agree B-town is priced better and has the park, but Francisville is closer to CC in general (not just Chinatown) and will likely see more investment in the immediate future than Brewerytown. That being said, I don't either neighborhood is bad, but I don't think you can undersell Francisville's geographic proximity to downtown. That's its biggest selling point.

**eldondre** · 03-14-2010, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by thoth

Walking to CC from Brewerytown is a bit of stretch. You can do it, but it will take you a good 30-40 minutes, it's not quite a skip down the lane. The average person isn't going to be walking much farther than Fairmount. In Francisville it's maybe 15-20 to CC.

I agree B-town is priced better and has the park, but Francisville is closer to CC in general (not just Chinatown) and will likely see more investment in the immediate future than Brewerytown. That being said, I don't either neighborhood is bad, but I don't think you can undersell Francisville's geographic proximity to downtown. That's its biggest selling point.

It's pretty hard to say F-ville is overrated given that it's never had a great reputation. It was overpriced but prices have come down here just as they have in Brewerytown (which was also extremely overpriced). Francisville undeniably has a better location and for someone using SEPTA and biking, it's hard to overstate not having to rely on the slow as dirt 48 and totally unreliable 15. It's five minutes to city hall from Girard on the subway, it's over 20 min on the bus. Brewerytown has better access to the highway and Fairmount Park. OTOH, the other thing going for F-ville is it's proximity to a growing party of north philly as well (temple). the new grocery store and movie theater are within easy walking distance. that's not to say brewerytown won't continue to improve.

**Geno** · 03-14-2010, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by eldondre

It's pretty hard to say F-ville is overrated given that it's never had a great reputation.

I ahve to agree. I have lived here forever and just recently have heard of it. If anything, its under rated!

**love to travel** · 03-15-2010, 08:02 AM

I walk to work every day from 29th and girard ave to university city 35 mins . I get my work out in for the day walking to and from work . I love it

**eldondre** · 03-15-2010, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by love to travel

I walk to work every day from 29th and girard ave to university city 35 mins . I get my work out in for the day walking to and from work . I love it

I do the same from francisville, and if I worked in center city, it would be a shorter walk.

**MM Partners** · 03-15-2010, 11:44 AM

I own properties in both neighborhoods. Regarding Francisville, I would say that east of 19th St is a tough sell due to the fact that the streets are not connected to the rest of the city's grid. 19th and 20th are good, and I love Corinthian.

**eldondre** · 03-15-2010, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by MM Partners

I own properties in both neighborhoods. Regarding Francisville, I would say that east of 19th St is a tough sell due to the fact that the streets are not connected to the rest of the city's grid. 19th and 20th are good, and I love Corinthian.

hey, maybe you guys can get some commercial back onto corinthian other than a laundromat. its a nice street with easy access to both fairmount and francsville and a nice view of the college.

what you described is the way things are priced. However, from a safety perspective, the crimey ridge center is less safe than the eastern edges..the doughnut theory. If I were looking for a deal, as the OP was, I'd probably look close to fairmount ave or close to broad st. I'd also posited that it's not because the streets aren't connected, but that it's the center fo PHA housing. remove PHA, the disconnected streets might eventually be a benefit to the neighborhood, leaving it largely free of traffic problems.
edited to add: I just noticed this was posted under the brewerytown forum which I guess explains all the bter's posting about francisville.

**MERKIN** · 03-17-2010, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by thoth

Walking to CC from Brewerytown is a bit of stretch. You can do it, but it will take you a good 30-40 minutes, it's not quite a skip down the lane. The average person isn't going to be walking much farther than Fairmount. In Francisville it's maybe 15-20 to CC.

I agree B-town is priced better and has the park, but Francisville is closer to CC in general (not just Chinatown) and will likely see more investment in the immediate future than Brewerytown. That being said, I don't either neighborhood is bad, but I don't think you can undersell Francisville's geographic proximity to downtown. That's its biggest selling point.

I guess it depends on what you consider cc and also what commute feels like as a commute. I don't consider the art museaum north Philly and it's 7 blocks from my house, my wife walks or bikes everyday. I guess cc fells closer to me than say f-town and especially Kensington. Once I am on the park way it's a very pleasant walk to the city and city hall is right there.

**eldondre** · 03-17-2010, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by MERKIN

I guess it depends on what you consider cc and also what commute feels like as a commute. I don't consider the art museaum north Philly and it's 7 blocks from my house, my wife walks or bikes everyday. I guess cc fells closer to me than say f-town and especially Kensington. Once I am on the park way it's a very pleasant walk to the city and city hall is right there.

I walked to city hall this morning in about 17 minutes from f-ville. Fairmount is in north philly. I don't see the point of denigrating other neighborhoods to pump up your own...esp similar neighborhoods. If I live in Fairmount, I pray that both improve. Fairmounters are tired of living on the fringe I imagine. I like that I can walk to the Reading Terminal in less than 20 minutes as well. However, if the price were right in b-town, I'd choose that, perhaps. question: how does one get to work at the hospital complex?