Heading home after getting whooped again in kickball, it somehow seemed appropriate that we found ourselves on Mercy Street, a tiny block just north of Snyder Avenue. Heading down the narrow street's 400 block, we were not at all expecting to find three homes that had clearly been built very recently.
417-21 Mercy St. sit on what were previously vacant lots which were purchased by V2 Properties a little over a year ago. If the name of that developer sounds a little familiar, it's because we've mentioned a few of their projects before. Remember, they have a big project in the pipeline on Front Street in Northern Liberties, with plans for twenty-three homes. And similar to their Mercy Street project, at least in terms of building on a narrow block that's just north of a major corridor, they built five homes on League Street in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood.
The homes on Mercy Street are the standard new construction you've come to expect around town, though perhaps a little on the small side. The homes have three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, finished basements, granite countertops, roof decks, etc. Somewhat unusual is that the homes are listed at just under $270K with one already under agreement. Considering the cost of construction, that's a pretty amazing price for a newly built home. On the other hand, people aren't exactly clamoring to live off of Snyder Ave., ya know?
If these homes sell quickly, it could signal a turn for this area in the southern part of Pennsport. There are plenty of other vacant lots on surrounding blocks which could represent an opportunity for developers if the cost of land remains low. This should be worth monitoring over the next couple of years, to see if anything significant changes around here.