Buying home near border of lower/upper East Mount Airy? (Philadelphia: middle-class, section 8)

[Phila Fred]

Hello,

I'm looking at buying a home right at the corner of Gorgas & Musgrave... the interior of the home is brand new so I love that part. What I'm more concerned about is location.

I know that the best parts of East Mt Airy tend to be north of Gorgas Ln... what are the odds of the lower section improving? I am basically right on the north-south line, you go 5 blocks south from this spot and there are cornerboys slinging around Germantown Av/Phil Elena; five blocks north and you have large Victorians with property values comparable to the nicer parts of the westside.

On the one hand I have the main commercial strip on Germantown Ave (library, park, supermarket, etc) as close as can be; on the other hand, the two blocks immediately south (Meehan and Pleasant) are not very appealing. Now my sister rented in basically the same exact spot a couple years ago @ the corner of Gorgas & Germantown near the firehouse and she really liked it... but even she said when she went jogging, she could go east/northeast on Gorgas all the way to Stenton, but never turned right onto Musgrave/Chew etc because it was "sketchy".

I have heard rumblings about parts of Mt Airy falling victim to Section 8 (technically now the "Voucher Program")... city-data's map indicates that the blocks immediately east of Germantown Ave between Gorgas & Phil Elena are some of the poorest by per capita income standards. This might just be because it's full of older residents-- lots of retirees with little income-- but I'm not sure.

Does anyone know which direction this area is trending? I really like the interior of this house I chose (there is another fully renovated one next door, as well as new condos half a block down on Gorgas), but the immediate area south looks run-down. Will they have to demolish the SEPTA bus station before we see any improvement there? Or are these just older blocks that will gradually be brought up by contractors and developers as the elderly residents sell or pass away?

Any insight or advice on the future of lower East Mt Airy would be appreciated.

Thanks

[2e1m5a]

You seem to be on target with your assesment but there are not cornerboys slinging at Germantown and Phil Ellena st. You'd be more likely to see that on Chew. There is actually a fairly new commercial development there with a nice little diner, credit union and some condos. Germantown Ave is most definitely improving but it will take some time for the side streets to diversify socioeconomically and racially.

Also, it is not quite as simple as North or South of Gorgas. South of Gorgas and East of Chew and the R7 Train Line are mostly safe middle-class black areas. "Dogtown" is the square between Chew, Germantown, Gorgas and Washington Lane and IMO generally looks worse than it is. You are right, there are many older residents but crime and poverty here are still the highest in the 19119 zip.

I would not hesitate to buy on Gorgas Lane, which as you stated is just outside of the more run-down area, which is not the worst area in the city to begin with. I definitely see it improving however Chew Ave needs to be the catalyst.

[RightonWalnut]

That area always seemed fine to me. Most of Northwest Philadelphia tends to be on the upswing. I think your assessment of the area is pretty spot on.

[tintin19119]

You should be ok, but I wouldn't buy it. IMO, it's something about musgrave st. and chew ave I never liked.
When ever something happens it always seem to be on one of the 2.