Garage conversions rising; Pa law puts Black, Asian homeowners at risk

Parking is pretty precious in much of the city and some of the urban communities just outside of it. So a lot of homeowners and renters would kill for a garage.

But we have a story this week about how some homeowners are converting theirs into other spaces, including a ceramics studio, a basketball court, and a home office. A growing number of owners are interested in repurposing their garages.

Read on for that story and to see how researchers say a Pennsylvania law disproportionately puts Black and Asian American property owners at risk, peek inside an old factory-turned-condos in Fishtown, and see what your fellow readers had to say about last week’s photo quiz and the home feature that will make today’s holiday easier to host.

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— Michaelle Bond

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Jenifer Baldwin’s home in Philly’s Pennsport section both did and didn’t come with a garage.

It did in the sense that her builder constructed an attached one-car garage. But the builder put in a wall instead of a garage door, so there’s no way to get a car inside of it.

But Baldwin was OK with that. She turned the space into a ceramics studio, which was very useful during the pandemic when she couldn’t go to the community studio. It worked out so well that she cut back her hours as a university librarian and started her own ceramics business.

Searches for “garage conversions” were up this year. Some homeowners transform their garages completely or convert the area above a garage into a different space.

Some examples:

👪 in-law apartments

🏋️ home gyms

⛹️‍♀️ a basketball court, thanks to a Chester County home builder

If you’re interested in converting your garage, here’s some inspiration and what you need to know.

No one likes to see blight in their neighborhood. Properties that are vacant and falling apart can attract crime and bring down neighbors’ property values — or their own homes if they’re attached.

A Pennsylvania law lets nonprofits take over blighted properties, fix them up, and sell them. The organization gets a large fee, and the block loses an eyesore.

But researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s law school found in a new analysis that the law is disproportionately being used against Black and Asian American property owners and in communities where real estate values are rising and residents are at risk of being pushed out.

Unintended consequences: “It shows that despite the intention of the act to ensure development that will benefit people who already live in an area, instead what is happening is that petitions are filed in communities that are already at risk for gentrification,” said Cara McClellan, director of the legal clinic that did the analysis.

And family homes are at stake.

The law also can be used to take control of city-owned properties. That’s how a Philadelphia developer is trying to use it now, so he can stabilize the old Germantown YWCA, which has sat empty for decades. Another developer is supposed to be turning it into apartments.

Read on for homeowners’ stories and more about how the law is used and what that means for residents.

The latest news to pay attention to

We’ve written a lot about office and factory conversions and why transforming these buildings into homes can or can’t work. In this week’s home tour, we go inside one converted property in Fishtown.

Memphis Flats currently is a condo complex. But around 1900, it was built as a factory, which made goods such as baseballs, Pepsi-Cola bottles, popcorn, and tires.

It’s now where Gab Dolceamore Weinberg and her husband, Mark Weinberg, live with their 15-month-old son and their rescue dog. The couple bought their 1,555-square-foot industrial space in 2019.

Their two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo on the fourth floor of their building features high ceilings, cement columns, oversize metal sliding doors, and a wall of windows across their living space.

The couple’s shared home office was once an elevator shaft.

Peek into the family’s home and take a look at the kitchen Gab designed “on the back of a napkin.”

🧠 Trivia time

Earlier this year, the city launched its first Philly Tree Plan with a goal of planting thousands of trees over the next decade. A new $12 million federal grant will help jump start the plan.

Question: What is the target tree canopy cover in all neighborhoods?

A) 45%

B) 40%

C) 30%

D) 15%

This story has the answer.

📷 Photo quiz

This three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom house on a large lot in Philly’s Port Richmond neighborhood is pending sale. How much is it going for?

📮 If you have a guess, email me back.

Shout out to Rachael B., who knew that last week’s photo was taken in South Philly’s FDR Park. I thought the quiz might be too hard, but she told me, “I’d recognize that gazebo anywhere!”

And a special shout out to Rob P., who said the rotunda in “the lakes” (as he called the gazebo and the park growing up in South Philly) has traditionally been a favorite spot for wedding pictures. He shared a photo of his parents, Dot and Tony, there on their wedding day in April 1954.

🏡 Your home experience

Last week, I asked what feature in your home will make hosting Thanksgiving easier today.

Bill G. in Trenton shared that when he remodeled the kitchen in his ranch home, built in 1954, his family went from a single wall oven to a double oven. Having two makes cooking big holiday meals, including today’s, easier.

“A great investment that comes in handy throughout the year,” he said.

I’ll be feasting today in Jersey at my aunt and uncle’s house. Enjoy the holiday and the rest of your week.

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