M.G. Schweiker Building Up For Sale

[JakeL]

Those of you in Brewerytown may be familiar with the M.G. Schweiker building, located north of the Rec Center. It's a beautiful building that has unfortunately stood vacant for many years. The original owners, M.G. Schweiker, were a roofing company and the evidence of their craftsmanship shows up in the beautiful roof. Fortunately, this past week the building went up for sale, which is great, as the current owners have done nothing to restore it or even protect it from the weather.

The listing can be found here: CENTURY 21 Advantage Gold - Philadelphia's largest CENTURY 21® company. Your perfect choice for Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey real estate.

The building is listed at $80,000, which sounds like a lot for a dilapidated shell, but then again, it is a sizeable building. Anyone been inside? I assume everything has been stripped.

[thoth]

Not familiar with it, but nice shots. Probably could drop that price down a tad given the location, even if it is big.

[MERKIN]

thats actually not a bad price if it comes with the warehouses on bailey st. they are in real bad shape, i have been in all of them. every person that comes to visits me says that they want to buy those buildings. i own a couple warehouses on that block and a couple other friends own the other buildings on that block. it would make a great coffee shop. i figure they are trying to dump them cause l and i have scheduled them for demolition and they dont want to put any money into them.

[McAdams]

I hope whoever buys the Schweiker building has enough money to preserve it and enhance it, NOT demolish it. It is a visually-interesting building and it would be a shame if it was knocked down, and standard-issue townhomes were put up it's place.

Merkin - what's going on at the corner of 27th and Jefferson? It looks like they knocked down some of the abandoned houses at that corner. What's going in in their place?

[MERKIN]

Merkin - what's going on at the corner of 27th and Jefferson? It looks like they knocked down some of the abandoned houses at that corner. What's going in in their place?

dirt. they where city owned buildings and now they are city owned lots.

[McAdams]

Hmmm. Just like real estate companies, the city should spend a minimal amount to make the space look attractive, then place a sign with contact information. Unload their properties as quickly as they can - to the best/strongest bidder, of course. Basically, do what it takes to get these vacant/abandoned eyesores bought and developed. PHA, PIDC, RDA, etc. should do the same.

[MERKIN]

Kurt!

[MM Partners]

Beautiful cornice! Nice photos!

[McAdams]

Beautiful cornice! Nice photos!

Perfect for an MMPartners makeover?

[JakeL]

Beautiful cornice! Nice photos!

The photos are the realtors work :-)

Usually listing agents have some pretty miserable photos of buildings, but they've done a good job on this one, except there's no interior shots.

[MM Partners]

The photos are the realtors work :-)

Usually listing agents have some pretty miserable photos of buildings, but they've done a good job on this one, except there's no interior shots.

That's because the inside probably looks like hell!

[CityMaps]

Perfect for an MMPartners makeover?

So subtle...

[JakeL]

Went over this afternoon to peek into the site and talk to neighbors. The building has been abandoned since the 80's and has survived not only exposure to the elements (with no windows), but a fire inbetween the warehouses and the main building. I'm hoping to get inside in the coming days to take some photos, but currently there are liability issues to sort through with the owner before they can let people in.

As Merkin mentioned, this building is now scheduled for demolition and unless there is movement on it shortly, the property will be demolished in a month or so. Previously, the 2nd and 3rd stories were apartments, while the lower level has been commercial space, such as a roofer or tire dealer. Hopefully this building will have another opportunity to be what it once was rather than turning into yet another vacant lot in a few weeks..

[JakeL]

Article posted up on NakedPhilly regarding the building: Awesome Building for Sale in Brewerytown. Needs some work though. | NakedPhilly

[MERKIN]

ahhh. tat was you. i was loading my truck one day and saw a couple of white guys on my block looking around and thought MM was in for a challenge( thats assuming your white). ed, berry, kurt and the guys who rent from the owner next door on bailey st have lived here most of their lives and are really nice. the owners want nothing to do with spending any money on these buildings. ed has had to do some work on the roofes himself because it rains inside just as much as outside. its a shame but 30 years ago people abandoned all hopes his hood and now they see people buying but unfortunately the buildings are in sad shape now and not worth much.

[JakeL]

ahhh. tat was you. i was loading my truck one day and saw a couple of white guys on my block looking around and thought MM was in for a challenge( thats assuming your white). ed, berry, kurt and the guys who rent from the owner next door on bailey st have lived here most of their lives and are really nice. the owners want nothing to do with spending any money on these buildings. ed has had to do some work on the roofes himself because it rains inside just as much as outside. its a shame but 30 years ago people abandoned all hopes his hood and now they see people buying but unfortunately the buildings are in sad shape now and not worth much.

Yep, if you see a scrawny blonde haired guy in the neighborhood, it's prolly me. hehe. If you see me around, say hello, it'd be good to meet you.

Jake was giving us a history of the place, sounds like it's been a part of the community for a long time, and unfortunately a vacant part of the community for a long stretch as well. Hopefully someone with the skill and resources can take this project on, I know it's way too far out of my league.

[raider.adam]

thats actually not a bad price if it comes with the warehouses on bailey st. they are in real bad shape, i have been in all of them. every person that comes to visits me says that they want to buy those buildings. i own a couple warehouses on that block and a couple other friends own the other buildings on that block. it would make a great coffee shop. i figure they are trying to dump them cause l and i have scheduled them for demolition and they dont want to put any money into them.

I knew someone that was interested in it a couple years ago to move their offices into. The owner was asking a ridiculous price, apparently.

Hmmm. Just like real estate companies, the city should spend a minimal amount to make the space look attractive, then place a sign with contact information. Unload their properties as quickly as they can - to the best/strongest bidder, of course. Basically, do what it takes to get these vacant/abandoned eyesores bought and developed. PHA, PIDC, RDA, etc. should do the same.

That's assuming the City and government agencies want to sell vacant land.

[JakeL]

Bummed that the windows still aren't boarded up and there's a hurricane looming in the distance. Sure, the windows haven't been boarded for years, but i would have hoped 100+ mile winds would have convinced them to do even an hour or two of work...

[MERKIN]

Bummed that the windows still aren't boarded up and there's a hurricane looming in the distance. Sure, the windows haven't been boarded for years, but i would have hoped 100+ mile winds would have convinced them to do even an hour or two of work...

its been through numerous fires and wind storm/hurricanes, one more only builds character.

[JakeL]

its been through numerous fires and wind storm/hurricanes, one more only builds character.

ah yes, the 'vintage' and 'weathered' look.