The obvious reason which is true has to be the crime in that neighborhood. I personally have a positive vibe with the new police chief and strongly feel that with the help of the community and its new leaders, crime will begin to go away. Out of curiosity, I looked to check the price on this mansion and who owns it. Times like these, I wish I was a millionaire! This property is listed for 3/4 of a million ($794,000) which comes to about $22.56 per square foot. The building in the back is listed as a warehouse and according to the site, the historic building is fully renovated and has no issues. So why aren't investors bringing their wallets out and scooping up this treasure? There are several reasons why and this blog is dedicated to talk about them. Also, I will talk about what my organization plans to do in the area to bring this sale to fruition.
Problem 1: Crime
Residents familiar with this area know about the reputation it has gained over the past couple years. Some reputations have went away for a while, only to come back...some have stayed relevant. The general issues in this neighborhood include: drugs, robberies, prostitution and guns. This is one of the main reasons why businesses have fled from purchasing this property or any other property nearby. When you look at crime in Norristown and where most of it has seemed to stay steady, you come up with Main Street and Dekalb Pike. Unfortunately for our town, these are the two main streets that cars drive by when getting to their destination. When you visit any other city that once had the problems Norristown has, you see that the main breezeways are beautiful, even if the rest of the town is not. Local leaders and community organizations make sure their main roads are filled with stores and looking clean. Business and investors will follow when they see a sense of pride in the town. When I was growing up, that park was known for prostitution and drugs, eventually diminishing. The older generation of Norristown still sees the park as a bad place, but those who have been to the park recently can strongly disagree. Some people have decided to look away and give up hope, but I refuse!
Solution: Riverfront Park Dragon Boat Club
Last Summer, Dragon Boat Club of Norristown decided to leave Philadelphia and make Norristown their home. We could not be more thankful that someone saw the potential in this area. They adopted Riverfront Park right around the corner from this location and made it a beautiful destination in hopes of it spreading to the surrounding community. At the end of the Summer, they hosted Riverfest and attracted hundreds of people to the park to see how much things have changed. Today, they host weekend activities for children and exercise classes for adults. They simply want you to come out and bring life to the area. This has resulted in positive things coming from the park and more residents taking interest. The park has become a new heartbeat for the community and is a perfect example of showing visions. Dragon Boat Club saw the potential, overlooked the negatives, and executed on their vision. Today, in my opinion, Riverfront Park is one of Norristown's greatest assets. I mention Riverfront Park and Dragon Boat because whatever happens to this property could expand on their success in the community. If a hotel comes to life, there's potential for the group to host larger festivals and invite teams from different parts of the state. Visitors now have a beautiful riverfront to visit when they stay in Norristown. Maybe someone wants a weekend fishing trip. Stay in Norristown, park your boat in the park and still have plenty of places to do shopping. The reality is, there are infinite possibilities being created as we speak.
Problem 2: Lack of Knowledge
Let's say I'm playing the role as an investor from out of town. When searching for real estate information on this property, it took me a while to find anything about this property. I finally found information on Loopnet, but I had to register on the site to contact the Broker. If I'm an investor and need something quick, I want all the information at my finger tips, not go on a scavenger hunt. Also, the description doesn't even tell me what the possibilities are for this property. A brief description of what the property once was used for would be a good start. In addition, the norristown.org website has the property listed as a warehouse, which is only half of the story. This is at no fault of theirs because they probably faced the same obstacle as me, finding out what this property is purposed for. Being that the front part of the mansion is historic, a warehouse would be a tough sell.
Solution: Increase Awareness
A couple months ago, Norristown SBAC went on a media frenzy to try to sell 1 Main Street (old PNC building). Nothing has resulted in this campaign yet, but it created buzz. Exactly what I tried to do with a simple Facebook post, share the possibilities, get feedback from the community. I guarantee the post generated enough views that someone who may have the capital may take a look at the property and the potential. Another thing that should be happening from the broker is to create a page for the property and sent it to clients. For a $800,000 property, I would push a sale rigorously for that commission check! Also, the town should host a monthly open house for the property for investors to take a look. For years, there has been two abandoned trucks and a closed gate with no open houses. The same thing happened with the PNC building, open houses were held and it created traffic. It may not happen overnight, but that PNC building will most likely be sold because of that impromptu open house that was held for potential businesses. Council should take a move out of Philly Council's playbook. Recently, a council-member sent a cold email to a business owner in California who was looking for a new building to move their headquarters to and all signs show it worked. Sometimes, we need to look outside of Montgomery County for something to happen. Although the county made it clear that they are no longer in the real estate business for good cause, even asking them to lead the efforts in this sale would be a possibility.
What TNP Would Like to Do
The Norristown Project's mission is to implement visions for a better tomorrow. The most we could possibly do is host a cleanup project in the area. Many residents agree that crime and overall cleanliness is a problem in that neighborhood. This area is the entrance of Main Street's business district so cleaning up the area is possible! I would love to work with the community on getting a project organized for the Spring to tackle this neighborhood. I would also like to reach out to Sue Basile who owns the property to see if she would be willing to work on the exterior of the property. TNP would be willing to remove weeds from the the area and pick up any trash in the neighborhood. The second part is up to the owner if they are willing to push that property and clean it up. I love that property and would love to see something happen to it, that one property could change that entire community! You just have to have a vision for change!
While writing this post, I was able to find the company website that owns it, but the page to the actual property is expired so no information is available. Also, the site has it listed as $1 million, who knows the real price?!
We will keep you updated on what happens with this property, we hope our efforts to increase awareness brings possibilities to this area.
