Lofty Living at St. Bridget’s

New apartments in old St. Bridget’s school are big on views, charm & convenience, but are they enough to lure this couple from their Wissahickon condo?

As you might recall, we’re kinda-sorta looking for new digs.  While we love where we are now, but we both have a thing for history, and it’s a shame to miss out on one of this area’s coolest features: all our beautiful old architecture.

We’ve been watching the construction at St. Bridget’s with great interest — although the closing of the school was a loss for the community, we were heartened to hear the company handling the buildings’ renovation was a close-knit operation out of Conshohocken. And that they were leaving a lot of the old school facade and interior accents in tact.

Last night, we met with their leasing manager Ashley to look over the remaining two 2-bedroom units available for rent here. They’ve got some 1-bedrooms and lofts yet to rent but once they finish construction on them they should get snapped right up, Ashley says.

Right off the bat, we were a little bummed because we were kinda hoping to remain in our sweet spot with a 1 bedroom with den floorplan but unfortunately St Bridget’s Lofts does not offer that. But their 2 bedroom, 1 bath is about the same price we’re paying now, but with with sweeping ceilings and stunning views. The cats would love these windowsills.

Not entirely thrilled with the open floorplans, though — maybe it’s me, but I find it awkward to just walk right into the kitchen from the entrance. You gotta be reeeeally good with putting dishes away, when your sink is the first thing people see stepping into your home. At least the kitchen cabinets aren’t see-thru, ha…

DID I MENTION THE SWEEPING VIEWS, though?! The windows are enormous, as you’d expect from an old elementary school. In some of the units, you’d need to keep one of those long poles handy to adjust them. Which is so goshdarn charming to me I can hardly stand it!

Reminds me of a favorite business trip to Portland, OR years ago — the office put me up at The Kennedy School, a B&B at a brewery on the grounds of an old elementary school. My room had one of those poles, and still had it’s vintage chalkboard, where the maid would leave me funny messages every day…

St. Bridget’s Lofts isn’t THAT obvious with the “old school” touches but the hallways still ring with subway tile, and the stairs keep their molding and bannisters. They’re even keeping the munchkin-sized water fountains along the walls on the 3rd floor of the old building. They won’t be hooked up, but they’ll remain adorable touches of history.

The apartments are pet-friendly (with a monthly fee we still need to clarify if it’s per-pet, as well) and there’s optional parking in their lot off Stanton for $100 per month. Permits for street parking cost $30 per year from the city.  The building has fob-key access, and although it’s only steps from East Falls train station, there is almost no noise from this vantage point (and I watched trains come & go from an open window right across the street).

Interested?  Contact How Properties to set up an appointment and start the application process (there’s a $50 per person fee).

As for us, while Steve and I absolutely love the area and the apartments we were shown, when we factor in parking & pet fees, it’s so close (!) but not quite enough to tip us over. Maybe August is a bad time to look at places without pools…

 

2 Comments

  1. Graduated from St Bridget’s in 1964, living in Orange County Ca since got out of Marines in ’78 and began 25 year employment with Orange County to retire in 2012 and move to 29 Palms Ca. Lofts look great and yes the view is what I remember…. 1st grade when over 100 students were in the classroom in 1956! Glad to see that new life has been brought to the community for future growth. Just know all tenants will enjoy their new home and it’s history.

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