The Sedgley Apartments, located at 400-3 S. 45th Street.
The Sedgley Apartments building, which has stood on the corner of S. 45th and Pine Streets for more than 100 years and has been gutted in recent weeks, will be renovated to house “luxury” apartments, according to its new owners.
The Sedgley’s new owner, 400 S. 45th Street LLC, which bought the property in February, plans a complete overhaul of the Romanesque-style building’s interior (the exterior will stay intact, save landscaping and window updates.) Work on the Sedgley, which was built circa 1900 when developers were looking for corner lots for high-density housing, has been left vacant for the last few years. Renovation should be finished by the fall.
The specs of the new apartments will sound familiar – hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, central air, washer and dryers, and custom tile. The majority of the market-rate units will be two- and three-bedroom apartments, each with two baths, with some one bed/one bath options available.
“It’s a unique opportunity to convert a beautiful greystone building in a premier area and we want to make the most of it,” said 400 S. 45th Street LLC principal Noah Ostroff.
– Annamarya Scaccia
May 2nd, 2013 at 10:11 am
I’m glad you put the word luxury in quotes – everything will be new and it sounds like they will have nice appliances and floors but it doesn’t exactly sound “luxurious”. I suppose that word helps justify the rent they will be charging. My big hope is that there that building won’t be surrounded my litter the way it used to be.
May 2nd, 2013 at 10:18 am
Pretty much anything will be an improvement. Vacant buildings like that can be taken over by squatters and then you run the risk of someone getting in accident or a fire breaking out.
May 2nd, 2013 at 10:37 am
Stonehurst, its sister building down the street has such great original doors (with skeleton keys!), windows and the like inside (I assume this is still the case), I wonder what’s being lost in the gutting… That said, an occupied building > than an empty one.
May 2nd, 2013 at 11:06 am
I looked at apartments in both the Sedgley and the Stonehurst many years ago and the Sedgley was due for a renovation back then. (Holes in the walls, cheap doors that didn’t stay closed, rough/splintering floor boards, etc) I can only imagine how much attention it needs now. I just hope the work is solid because granite and stainless steel can only cover up so much. Best of luck to the new owners.
May 2nd, 2013 at 12:01 pm
I’ve been watching the demo from Earth Cup, and that bad boy is gutted to the BONES. Ceilings, floors, walls. I get the impression it’s being totally rebuilt from the inside out – I too hope they have someone solid doing the build! It’s a gorgeous building. Even if it’s not high-end work, I’m glad to see it being saved, rather than destroyed and left as a fenced off, empty lot for the next 15 years.
May 2nd, 2013 at 11:15 am
The demo crew set an oil tank in the basement on fire the other day when they cut it in half in order to remove it. I live across the street and watched as four firetrucks showed up to hose it down. I hope the building crew is more pro then the demo crew.
May 3rd, 2013 at 5:37 pm
I’ve been wondering where all those firetrucks that have been rushing through the area lately were going…
May 2nd, 2013 at 11:40 am
When I lived in the area (next block over) it was still being rented out/used as an apartment building (that was just a little over a year ago) but it was “party central” for college kids and took some damage and looked “trashy”. It’s a beautiful building and glad to see it being “restored” instead of destroyed !
May 2nd, 2013 at 12:16 pm
This is awful. I’m glad the building will be occupied, but I’m less than excited by the prospect of the new tenant crowd this will bring. There’s already been an influx of too many people into this neighborhood with suburban feudal style attitudes about how to make the neighborhood “better”…
May 2nd, 2013 at 2:48 pm
You live in the fifth largest city in the country. You won’t necessarily get along with or agree with all of your neighbors all the time. Increased density and reuse are good for the hood.
May 2nd, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Hello exactly. It’s like you can’t even toss a turkey leg in this town anymore without hitting a vassal. Honestly, these suburbanites with their falcons, and their tapestries, and their unquestioning fidelity to Charlemagne. This is West Philly, not Wayne, you can’t just bear-bait in Clark Park because you felt like it. And don’t even get me started on their Sumptuary Laws. I happen to look fly in Tyrian purple. Let a purple player play, son. Feudal suburban haters.
May 6th, 2013 at 11:07 pm
So that explains the turkey.
May 14th, 2013 at 11:49 am
win!
May 2nd, 2013 at 1:13 pm
I’m glad the rat castle (my sobriquet) is being transformed. I have lived next door for 10 years.
It was always surrounded with weeds that encroached over half the sidewalk on Pine. Sidewalks were never shoveled after a snowstorm. Abandoned cars were routinely parked in front of it on 45th.
Brendangrad, I have also been worried about squatters and the possibility of a fire. The warmer weather will make the gutted building inviting. I hope the developers recognize this danger and monitor the building accordingly.
Perhaps it will soon be a worthy castle, feudal lords and all! Good.
May 2nd, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Madame, your stinging wit has left me stunned. Nicely played.
May 2nd, 2013 at 2:46 pm
There is a “For Sale” sign on a fence outside of the building with Noah Ostroff as the contact. I’m confused – are they developing the property into apartments (as noted in the article) or trying to offload the building? Many thanks for your coverage.
May 2nd, 2013 at 2:52 pm
No problem! It is my understanding that the building is not for sale; rather, it is for rent (assuming that is for parties interested in moving in once completed.) I will confirm with the owner. Thanks for your comment!
May 2nd, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Thanks. I could be wrong about the “for sale.” It could just be an early notice for the apartment listings. If you enlarge the photo in the post, you’ll see the Coldwell Banker blue sign on the fence. By the way, if you do get in touch with them, if you could let them know that one of the basement windows (just behind the fence by the sign) does not have any covering on it. Squatters could easily get in there. Thanks again for your coverage of this.
May 2nd, 2013 at 3:01 pm
No worries! And I did receive confirmation that it is a “for rent” sign. Thanks!
May 2nd, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Squatters need to rebrand. That name isn’t doing them any favors.
May 2nd, 2013 at 3:29 pm
happy to see this being renovated. It is a great neighborhood. A vacant building is never a good thing. I do hope the color gray goes.
June 4th, 2013 at 6:45 pm
you aren’t suggesting they paint the stone are you? Please NO
May 3rd, 2013 at 9:51 am
I came across this link a few weeks ago trying to find out about what was going on at the Sedgley:
http://search.reel-scout.com/location_detail.aspx?id=035-10000592&photopage=2
May 13th, 2013 at 5:14 pm
I agree having the building occupied is a good thing. The problem is corporate owners are often not the best community members. For example, Stonehurst on 45th and Osage now advertises on facebook to University of the Science students by dismissing our southern neighbors as not good (the advert states Stonehurst is 5 blocks in “the good direction”). The owners obviously do not understand the welcoming aspect of our neighborhood, and instead use neighborhood baiting class lines to attract renters. I know there are larger ownership groups that do care about the neighborhood, hopefully this, unlike Stonehurst, is the case.
June 4th, 2013 at 3:33 pm
What is going on with the renovation here? I haven’t seen anyone working on it in at least two weeks, maybe more. And it’s totally unsecured – you can get behind the fence and the basement windows are not boarded up well. @WestPhillyLocal – can you find out any info?
September 27th, 2013 at 10:26 pm
Where are all those renters going to park. Hopefully they’ll use bikes or car share.