First-Time Find: Upgraded in East Mt. Airy for $255K

931 E. Durard St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19150 | TREND images via RE/MAX Keystone

The sunny streets of upper East Mt. Airy are filled with beautifully maintained homes that make great first rungs on the homeownership ladder. This is one of those homes.

Built in 1950, this roomy twin is the beneficiary of a recent top-to-bottom rehab that turned its interior into a comfortable space for modern living.

Its attractive front patio lets you join in the common neighborhood practice of relaxing in the front yard while you greet your neighbors and passers-by. It also has a rear deck for those occasions when you’d prefer a little more privacy as you entertain or soak up the sun outdoors.

Inside, it boasts gleaming refinished hardwood floors, recessed lighting, and updated fixtures throughout. The dining room, with its new ceiling fan and two closets, and the kitchen have been combined into a single space that can handle both intimate family dinners and lively parties thanks to the addition of a granite-topped breakfast bar, plenty of cabinet storage and the latest stainless steel appliances. Your family and your guests will also enjoy the comfortable living room.

Upstairs, you’ll find three large bedrooms, including a huge master bedroom and bath with stall shower. The other bedrooms share a modern hall bath.

Downstairs there’s a finished basement rec room with ceramic tile floor, recessed lighting, extra storage space and powder room. Access to the enclosed garage and rear driveway is through the laundry room in the basement.

Though located in East Mount Airy, this home is in the middle of a variety of shopping and dining options: it’s midway between the heart of Mount Airy’s business district on Germantown Avenue and neighborhood shopping on Wadsworth Avenue. Cedarbrook Plaza and Cheltenham Square Mall (the latter now in the midst of a makeover) are also close by, just across the city line on Cheltenham Avenue. Several SEPTA bus routes pass close by, and Sedgwick station on the Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail line is a five-block walk from your front door.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 3

BATHS: 2 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 1,720

SALE PRICE: $254,900

OTHER STUFF: Some call the neighborhood containing this home “Cedarbrook,” and others call it “Stenton,” but real estate agents call it Mt. Airy, whose ZIP code it was once part of. (Most of its residents would rather you called it that too.) Your channel editor recently spent several weeks coursing its streets and talking with its residents to produce this profile of a classic “middle neighborhood” – an African-American middle-class success story whose residents want very much to keep it a success. You can help them do that by considering properties like this one; your neighbors will make you feel right at home. Want to learn more about this and other “middle neighborhoods” in general? Next City magazine, in which the profile appears, is sponsoring a free panel discussion and conversation tomorrow evening (Thursday, May 18th) from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Relish restaurant, 7126 Ogontz Ave. in next-door West Oak Lane. Not only is the discussion free, but so are the food and beverages. Because of this, you must RSVP for the conversation in advance here.

931 E. Durard Rd., Philadelphia, Pa. 19150 [Colleen Venango | RE/MAX Keystone]