Live
Looking for a new home with urban luxuries, but a small town feel? The neighborhoods surrounding Frankford Avenue have plenty to offer a prospective renter or home buyer. Be a part of the evolving Frankford Avenue corridor, an eclectic neighborhood main street with an artistic twist. Join active, vocal neighborhood associations and work to improve your community, or participate in the many fun and exciting festivals and events year round. Or simply come to a neighborhood that welcomes artists to practice their trades and enrich our local culture.
Check out a recent video promo that details some of the sights in our neck of the woods.
Choices
The Arts Corridor plan has resulted in significant private investment and new development. In 2005 over 50 properties were sold just along Frankford Ave, many of which were converted into either new commercial or residential space. With street improvements ramping up in 2009, and several large projects planned, the future only holds more promise for Frankford Ave. To help newcomers make choices about relocating to the Frankford Avenue area, the New Kensington Community Development Corporation has several programs set up to help our prospective neighbors.
Buy
If you’re considering buying a house, but you’re not sure how to get started, NKCDC provides housing counseling and homebuyer assistance. These programs are available for both first-time homebuyers and those considering another purchase. Various workshops are held to educate individuals on financing options, credit repair and even basic household budgeting. Local developers and community organizations work to convert abandoned homes and vacant land into a diverse array of housing options for Philadelphians. Click here for more info on NKCDC’s housing programs.
Rent
Or, if you are an artist looking to rent, start with the Coral Street Art House. CSAH provides 27 units of live/work space for artists. Built as part of a NKCDC initiative in 2005 to provide affordable options for living and working in the neighborhood, this converted six-story textile mill provides a unique habitat with a connection to Kensington’s industrial past.
Or, if you are an artist looking to rent, start with the Coral Street Art House. CSAH provides 27 units of live/work space for artists. Built as part of a NKCDC initiative in 2005 to provide affordable options for living and working in the neighborhood, this converted six-story textile mill provides a unique habitat with a connection to Kensington’s industrial past.
The artists that currently live in Coral Street include painters, actors, writers, photographers, graphic designers and more. Activities at Coral Street include exhibitions throughout the year, workshops on issues that face artists in their professional careers and fun events for the community. Coral Street recently hosted the tile workshops for the Mural Arts Program and residents helped complete a mural in our neighborhood. Coral Street artists have also participated in other community arts projects such as temporary murals and benches for Frankford Ave.
For more information about Coral Street Arts House, please contact Laura Semmelroth at 215-739-0310 (lsemmelroth@nkcdc.org) or Download an application for admission.
Featured Property – Viking Mills
Since the 1950s the Hirsch family has worked out of the old Viking Textile Mill at Coral and Hagert Street, a five story 1880s relic that dominates the block. Grandfather Hirsch plied his trade out of the rented third floor of the massive factory, preparing high quality fibers that would be used in everything from paint to hair brushes. As hard times hit Philadelphia’s industry, one by one the other manufacturers folded.
But the Hirsch family persisted, and eventually bought the entire building. Grandson David Hirsch kept on the family business of fibers and started his own trade, crafting speciality horse carriages. But even these ventures left only a fraction of the building occupied. He watched the neighborhood pass through a rough period, but he stayed committed and kept his factory.
Now David and his partner have steered Viking Mills in a new direction. Inspired by the success of the Coral Street Arts House, David has started restoring and leasing out space to artists. The cavernous interior of the factory still has its original hardwood floors, blackened from decades of grease from the textile looms that hummed there for almost a century. The looms have been replaced with recording studios, movie studios, dress makers, photographers, painters, sculptors and furnituremakers. Each floor is now packed with small workspaces for a diverse group of artisans.
David estimates that in nine months he has leased out about 25 individual workspaces, some 25,000 square feet, but that another 30-40,000 is still unoccupied. He doesn’t think that will be the case for long if spaces continue to lease at the pace of the last few months.
He credits his success so far to a business model he developed with a focus group of artists organized by New Kensington CDC in 2006. Affordability and flexibility were found to be the top priorities for artists looking for workspace. So while David offers raw space from between 35-50 cents a square foot, the artists are charged with building their walls and fitting out their spaces. David says most artists enjoy the opportunity to construct the space themselves, and this allows him to keep rents low due to savings from construction.
Viking Mill is still very much a work in progress. David has big plans for the future as his tenant list grows and more of the building is restored. Work is beginning on a common courtyard that will act as an inviting entry area for visitors and a space for tenants to host events. He also envisions converting part of an annexed garage into an art gallery space that would serve as a public showcase for the artists in his building. David is also considering modifications to his business model in which he would provide a limited number of preconstructed spaces to artists who don’t wish to build out themselves.
Viking Mill epitomises the potential for creative reuse of industrial space in Kensington by connecting the future of the neighborhood with its past roots in industry. David speaks about his deep roots in the area with an enthusiasm that is only matched by his vision for what is yet to come. Viking Mill is located at 2026 Hagert St. For more information go to www.vikingmill.com, or call David at 267.229.5969
