12 Responses to “a house then and now: 510-512 North 23rd Street”

1. posted by mary anne at May 15, 2006 4:44 pm :
   

   is there any way to make sure that 512 does not end up looking like 510? The grey box with the red door that has been completely stripped of any of its architectural character and integrity. sorry, but i’d rather look at the structure on the right(512) that is falling down and wait for a person to restore/renovate the house properly than see another house turned into something like the house at 510 where no attempt was made to preserve the original character of the house. very sad.

2. posted by john at May 15, 2006 5:10 pm :
   

   It is my understanding that this property is owned by a couple that has done great work on the next block. Other than trusting people to do the right thing, though, there is nothing currently in place in Union Hill to ensure that restoration or renovation follows any specific guidelines.

3. posted by Anonymous at May 15, 2006 5:57 pm :
   

   Only a City Historic Overlay could prevent vinyl siding and inappropriate infill. 51% of the owners in the area would need to approve such an endeavor. Union Hill is not quite there yet, but it’s almost there.

   Is the couple that may do this one the same couple that did the green duplex on the west side of the 600 block? Because that was a first rate job. Kudos to those folks if they tune in to this site.

4. posted by mary anne at May 21, 2006 9:09 pm :
   

   kudos to this couple - it would be a blessing to have them renovate/restore this property if maintain such high standards! they should check out 512-516 north 25th street - beautful places, owned by a tyler greenan of 2512 e. grace & william e. kinsley & morton g. billups -these beautful properties are at risk for demolition if the owners don’t do something soon!

5. posted by mary anne at May 21, 2006 9:20 pm :
   

   in another post, i mentioned 3 properties that are fantastic & wish i could save them - 512-516 north 25th street - i’ve done the property search, found the owners’ names, and have met several people who have been peeking in the windows, wondering how to go about purchasing these properties for restoration/renovation(i live w/in sight of the houses). i’m tempted to phone the owners, but am not in a postion to make an offer to buy. any suggestions?

6. posted by john at May 21, 2006 9:28 pm :
   

   It wouldn’t hurt to satisfy curiosity, right? Call the owner and see what they’ll sell for (if they’ll sell…), then spread the word. If they’ll sell, contact me and I’ll run a little something on this site. Or, maybe 1st contact ACORN and see if they know anything — they’ve been very cool about helping me out when I really had to know something about a wonderful abandoned house.

7. posted by john at May 21, 2006 9:30 pm :
   

   (And I feel the same way about the empty brick house at northeast corner of 24th and Cedar. If we were rich or something…)

8. posted by mary anne at May 21, 2006 9:51 pm :
   

   thanks, john - who are you, anyway? would love to meet you and hope you are a member of ACORN - they have 3 employees - phenomenal organization worthy of support! i volunteer for ACORN. they have one person to do all of the property searches - david herring- who deserves angel wings for his hard work and dedication - ACORN should be thanked for the many properties they’ve saved from the wrecking ball- they do this with such a tiny budget - they are truly amazing and fight so hard for our city!

9. posted by john at May 21, 2006 10:23 pm :
   

   I’m a lapsed (and future) member of ACORN; membership renewal is on my short list of things to do. ACORN and BHC are my favorite organizations to say nice things about.

   Who am I? Hmmm… I’m a teacher at MLK Middle & my wife and I are very (very) slowly restoring a house on 23rd Street in Fairmount.

10. posted by mary anne at May 21, 2006 10:45 pm :
    

    i wonder if your house is the amazing place i looked at 3 yrs. ago - i could kick myself for not having bought it - good for you - my sister & c.h. resident is teaching 3rd grd. at swansboro - have highest respect for teacher - esp. h.s. teachers! wow! also slowly renovating(correcting poor ‘renovation’) w/very patient fiancee and 2 dogs. hope to see you guys @ next renovator’s happy hr - june 16th(or something close to that date) or at CHA meeting?

11. posted by ralph on 22nd at May 22, 2006 8:34 pm :
    

    This I heard in a passing comment by someone on a jobsite near the house in question…it belongs to Tom O’Kelly and I was also told he recently had a heart attack or something. So things maybe on hold. Tom has done some good work in the past so I’m sure as soon as he gets back in the saddle it will be done well.

12. posted by christy at May 23, 2006 4:42 pm :
    

    mary anne and john. hi! i’m enjoying the correspondence between the two of you. i own a house on the 800 block of N 24th st. so i’m very familiar with the brick house on the corner of 24th and cedar that you referred to. since you both mentioned ACORN, i thought i’d say that my mom and i have been thinking about contacting them about the house next door to (and attached to) mine. the house in question, 824 N 24th st, is literally falling in on itself. it’s in between my house and the house on the end (a rowhouse of 3). the roof has literally caved in and it’s been abandoned (aside from the random people who seem to inhabit in during the really cold months and who happened to start a fire in a shed in it’s back yard). my parents are looking to buy it and fix it up, it’s just recently gone on the market for sale and they’re asking a ridiculous amount considering its condition. is acorn really the place to go when dealing with something like this? the condition the house has been left in has done damage to my roof and probably more that i just can’t see. anyone curious should stop by and have a peek - of course the front door is wide open.

    in accordance with most of the rest of the folks on this site, we’re interested in doing a nice renovation, the structure of the homes are gorgeous and it would be a shame to simply modernize them. are there any resources/people that you’d recommend who have “been there/done that” that would be willing to give some advice to people like us who come prepared with really good intentions? i’m not sure we know where to start! :)

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