Westrum Starts 128-Unit Townhouse Complex

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PHILADELPHIA-Fort Washington-based Westrum Development Co. has begun construction of Hilltop at Falls Ridge, a 128-unit townhouse complex in the East Falls neighborhood. The project contains two-, three- and four-bedroom units in a combination of stacked two-story layouts of about 1,300 sf and rear- and front-entry, four-story layouts of approximately 4,000 sf.

John Westrum, CEO, declined to provide an estimated construction cost, but says he anticipates a $65-million sellout. Of the initial 12 units, he says the company has commitments for 10. Pricing ranges from the mid-$300,000s for the stacked units to $600,000-plus for the larger ones.

The stacked units are an upscale version of units in Westrum’s Brewerytown development. All units in this complex have brick exteriors and include a garage, laundry room and upper-end fixtures, appliances and amenities. He says the entire project will be completed in three years.

The complex is located along the Schuylkill River within walking distance of the Manayunk neighborhood and minutes from Center City on 12.6 acres of land Westrum tells GlobeSt.com the company acquired from the Pennsylvania Housing Authority for $3.1 million. “A 28-acre parcel once contained 15-story PHA affordable housing towers on one side, which were built in the 1950s and vacated and torn down in the 1990s, and low-income housing that was vacated and knocked down between 2003 and 2004. The land was to be devoted to new low-income housing under a federal HOPE VI grant,” he says. “However, the project got involved in litigation between PHA and the neighbors over what should be built there.

“In order to solve the litigation problems, we submitted a proposal for developing market-rate housing on the Eastern portion of the land,” he says. “It took about two and a half years to obtain all the necessary approvals, but it paved the way for the development of about 150 low-income units on the Western portion that are now owned and operated by PHA. The project demonstrates the ability for market-rate and affordable housing to coexist.”