Quote:
Originally Posted by PHL10
I don't know Camden well but I did notice the area behind Copper has a few small blocks here and there where the homes are well kept and they looked more West Philly-ish to me but maybe you could post some google street view links showing the area to which you are referring, the Society Hill-ish areas?
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A few other people already posted some good links before I saw your reply, but here's some more, all in the same area that has been posted around cooper.
Benson has hospital structures on one side, but I think the other side of the block has all houses that look great:
https://goo.gl/maps/juBtuoUbUT52
https://goo.gl/maps/NP6GU2Gt1MA2
Chambers has already been posted, but I think it's important to point out, this image is now almost 6 years old, it looks even better now and I think may be my favorite street:
https://goo.gl/maps/VFW8PDNc1Ek
Berkley is another good one, and again these photos are not current, it only looks better now:
https://goo.gl/maps/cf7D3AzFxTs
There's also some very solid new construction in the area that is making the area look even better. This stretch on 6th street I think is exceptional with the mansard roofs:
https://goo.gl/maps/ka7SNX1fgD92
(Though it is a shame about the backyard fence fronting right onto Washington St.)
Perhaps you're right that they're more West Phillyish than Society Hill, with the porches, I guess I was just talking about the combination of cobblestone, tree lined streets with old red brick architecture.
My overall point though was simply that so much of Camden's redevelopment hopes seem to be centered around waterfront highrises, I think it would be absolutely shocking for a lot people to find out that such a beautiful urban environment exists in Camden, even if it's only a few square blocks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gonzo the Great
If positive change is coming , it's going to take a long long time . Sorry real-estate investors .
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You're not considering something really important when you post all those facts. Those facts are for the city as a whole. Philly likely doesn't fare very well itself in many of these categories, however just looking at those overall numbers would betray the highly educated and wealthy population that we all know resides in Center City and many surrounding and outlying neighborhoods. No one is claiming the entirety of Camden is going to rebound anytime soon. I'm talking about a very specific part of the city. A part of the city that is architecturally beautiful, reasonably safe, located directly next to a major employer of high paying jobs, and is within easy walking distance of a subway stop that puts you in center Philadelphia in about 5 minutes.
I think the one part of the equation that is still missing is a trendy food/drink spot. The area has gotten more options in that regard in recent years, but they're still of the corner store, Chinese food, pizza place variety. Certainly better than nothing, but if there were a couple of neighborhood spots that served good food and/or you could grab a drink it'd be a big deal. Being a few minutes from Center City is great, but you don't want to go down town every time you want any type of entertainment.
But with the amount of new construction in this part of Camden and reinvestment into an already pretty striking part of the city, it's only a matter of time. Right now most of the people in the neighborhood work at Cooper, but eventually you're gonna get people working in Center City, deciding they'd rather take a 5 min subway ride to Philadelphia than live somewhere in the city where the commute downtown is far less convenient and where your money gets you a lot less.