In 1904, a French renaissance manor was constructed at 42nd and Pine streets. Over 100 years later, the mansion is re-opening its doors to residents - this time, to anyone who wants to live there.
This January, residents will begin moving into the space, which has been transformed into 28 luxury condominiums as part of a project initiated by Penn.
The properties start at $284,000. Penn incentives for faculty and staff to buy homes in the area apply.
One faculty member already taking advantage of the new housing is former Penn president Sheldon Hackney.
"If I can't be a student, then at least I can just hang around the fringes of campus," Hackney said.
Hackney, on leave this year, is a Penn History professor and normally walks to campus from his home on 22nd and Pine streets. Living at 4200 Pine St. would mean a shorter walk and less living space to manage, which he and his wife no longer need now that their grandchildren have grown and visit less.
The University has owned the building since 1989 and used previously it for offices, which have since been moved on campus.
According to Paul Sehnert, director of Real Estate Development at Penn, the decision "to convert the building is consistent with the goal of the University in supporting the West Philadelphia community through home-ownership in the neighborhood, especially in attracting families for the Penn Alexander school," the University-supported school near 42nd and Spruce.
The mansion was built in 1904 by Horace Trumbauer, a prominent architect who designed over 40 buildings in and around Center City, including Philadelphia's Public Ledger building, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
In 1989, Penn purchased the estate from the American College of Physicians, but by early 2004, the University was actively looking for plans to redevelop the property.
The estate was eventually sold to Campus Apartments to be developed.
Along with the original 1904 mansion, the estate has a wing added in the thirties and another completed in the seventies.
In designing the condos, the firm developing the space, Qb3 (pronounced "cubed"), looked to find a way to respect the history of Trumbauer and the building while creating a modern living space.
"The old, quaint exterior has been preserved," architect Tim Peters said. "But the interior is new and built for our time."
The firm's design also follows Penn's goal of engaging with the neighborhood - all condos are to face the courtyard in the center of the U-shaped estate, which serves as a park to the community and will remain public.
Jeff Block, the real-estate agent responsible for listing the property, has worked in West Philadelphia for the past five years and said he believes this new type of housing will benefit the area.
"It will increase the diversity of the neighborhood," Block said. "There will be more opportunities to buy mid-sized units instead of just large houses."
The redevelopment marks one of the first times that luxury condos have entered the West Philadelphia real-estate scene, Block said.
"It's really an urban level of living where housing is integrated with sidewalks and courtyards - that's not like the gated communities in suburbs," Peters added.
Mary Goldman, a resident on the 4100 block of Pine Street since 1961, has seen West Philadelphia through many changes, but she thinks the condos may bring back some old-time charm
"It ain't like it used to be," Goldman said. "I'm one of only a few homeowners on the block, but with the condos, there'll be more."
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