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On the Market: Penthouse Condo in Brewerytown

This top-floor condo in a building named for Brewerytown’s favorite architect gets lots of light through its ample windows. It also has its own roof deck.


condo for sale Brewerytown penthouse living room

If you love the sunshine, you’ll love this penthouse condo in Brewerytown that comes with a southern exposure and a private roof deck with panoramic views. You’ll find it at 1501-19 N. 31st St. #PH4, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 | Bright MLS images via Compass

You could call architect Otto Wolf (1856-1916) the man who made Brewerytown Brewerytown.

The prolific architect — the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings entry on him lists 207 projects he designed — specialized in designing brewery buildings, including many of the breweries that gave Brewerytown its name. But he also designed office buildings, factories, banks, residences and the original home of John Wanamaker’s department store.

Many of his breweries, like the massive Schmidt’s complex in Northern Liberties, no longer stand, but fragments of two of them survive in Brewerytown. One of them, the Bergdoll (City Park) brewery, is now a condo about a half-mile to the southeast of this new construction Brewerytown penthouse condo for sale. The other, the cold storage building for the F.A. Poth Brewing Co., sits directly across 31st Street from the building housing this condo.

I tell you all this because the building is named in Wolf’s honor: The Otto.

condo for sale Brewerytown penthouse Otto condo buildingq

The Otto condominium

Were Wolf alive today, he might have designed buildings like this one; while the buildings he did design are more richly ormamented than this one, they shared the utilitarian feel of this new construction condo, completed in 2019.

This is one of four penthouse units at the Otto. It spans the building’s south side, facing Jefferson Street. The primary bedroom faces east and the main living area faces west.

condo for sale Brewerytown penthouse living room, south side

South side of living room; balcony door at left

What this means is that your living room, dining room, kitchen and primary bedroom get loads of sunlight through large windows.

condo for sale Brewerytown penthouse dining area and kitchen

Dining area and kitchen

You can take in the sunset from the main living area’s west-facing windows.

condo for sale Brewerytown penthouse kitchen

Kitchen

Your kitchen features a large island with waterfall countertop and bar seating and the latest Samsung appliances, including a Family Hub smart fridge.

primary bedroom

Primary bedroom

Meanwhile, the morning sun pouring through the primary bedroom windows can gently wake you and make you ready to face the day.

primary bathroom

Primary bathroom

Both of its bathrooms — the primary one, shown above, and the hall bath your guests can also use — boast sleek modern styling and fixtures. (The second bedroom is currently configured as a home office.)

balcony

Balcony

Its south-facing balcony lets you take in both the rising and the setting sun. It also offers a great view of Center City.

So does its private roof deck, the only one in the building. But its view is also panoramic.

common roof deck

Common roof deck

You also have access to the bigger communal roof deck next door. It contains banquette seating, a dog run and an outdoor kitchen and bar. These sit under a canopy that allows all-weather use, but as they’re open to the outdoors, they also make a great space for socially distant entertaining.

Around the Otto you’ll find several other new apartment buildings with street-level shops and eateries. An Aldi supermarket and a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store are a three-block walk away, as is Girard Avenue, Brewerytown’s Main Street. In addition to shopping and dining, you can catch the Route 15 bus to get to other area destinations — or you can walk two blocks east to 29th Street and catch Routes 7, 48 or 49 for a one-seat ride to Columbus Boulevard’s big-box stores, Center City or University City’s employment centers.

All these things make this Brewerytown penthouse condo for sale stylish, smart and convenient. I think Otto Wolf would have approved of this combination.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 2

BATHS: 2

SQUARE FEET: 1,300

SALE PRICE: $479,000

OTHER STUFF: If you do own a car, you can obtain a deeded parking space for it for an additional fee. A little more than eight years remain on this unit’s tax abatement. A $386 per month condo fee covers building insurance, building and common area maintenance, and use of common facilities.

1501-19 N. 31st St. #PH4, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 [Tom Dilsheimer | The HOW Group | Compass]