Several years ago a guy and his wife walked through an open house I held for a property we’d developed and were working on selling.  The house was an open loft-like home with a green roof.   It was really cool, and they liked it.  At the time it wasn’t right for them, but we exchanged numbers and stayed in touch.  

About a year after that Franco asked me to work with one of his classes at Drexel, where he teaches.  I was happy to do so, and enjoyed the process very much.  In the class, we worked with students to identify various “green” measures (everything from insulation to flooring) and evaluate and model what mattered.  It was a daunting task in many ways - most of the experts in the field aren’t really very good at this yet. 

During that class, where I probably learned more than anyone, Franco and I started thinking and talking more-and-more about doing a house for he and his wife Sharon and their two kids.  I had never worked with a client before, having done more speculative development projects where I called all the shots (for better and, at times, way worse).  The idea of a design-build project appealed to me, especially for clients as cool and receptive to sustainable design ideas as Franco and Sharon.  The timing wasn’t quite right, but we both agreed that when the time was appropriate, we would work on this together.

Fast-forward to about 6 months ago, and we re-initiated the talks again, but this time more seriously.  We discussed everything from new construction to “container houses” to rehabs.  We discussed areas of the city, costs, how to get construction financing, contractors, real estate agents … you-name-it, we discussed it.  And all for good reason.  Though not doing it speculatively, we were undertaking a development project.  To do a project right, there are many, many variables that have to be considered.  We considered them.  

After a false start or two (an initial offer on a rehab house fell through), they made an offer on a home on S. 13th street, in Philadelphia, near Passyunk.  It’s a great, tree-lined street with lots of parks nearby, close to the subway on Broad Street, and with lots of hip new restaurants opening up in the area.  

The house is a 3-story home in need of fairly serious rehab.  Over the course of the past 60 days or so, I have worked with Franco and Sharon to first imagine the completed home, and then price its development (both labor and specs), and then re-imagine and re-price it a time or four as we worked through a very laborious construction loan process, called a 203k loan.  The 203k aspect of this project probably requires a post or 7 all to itself, but let’s just say that it was a challenge for all involved.  Ultimately though, they closed on the home yesterday.  

The design plan isn’t quite as grand as once imagined and our nerves are a bit more frayed than we’d like, but I just received a text message from our contractor that he has a demo permit in hand.  Work will, at last, begin in the morning to first deconstruct, and then reconstruct, this home from its current state into something we all can be proud of. 

For the next several months I will continue working with Franco and Sharon and Paul (the contractor) to manage this project and various design elements (with significant assistance from an architect).  Developing a property is a constant juggling act of finances, design, sustainability, timelines, and other restraints.  The end product must touch on each of these (and several other things, too) to be successful. A great-looking house that is too expensive:  failure.  A bad looking house that is affordable: failure.  For it to work, all of these various parts must be the best they can be within the context of the overall limitations (budget, scale, etc.).  That’s not easy to do, but getting the most you can out of whatever limitations you face is the challenge, whether a project be a rehab of a home or a new office building.