The Navy Yard is not your typical Philly neighborhood. But that\u2019s partly why its first apartment renters say they like it.<\/p>\n
The decommissioned military base at the southernmost edge of the city is now mostly a hub for offices and laboratories and is home to more than 150 companies. The first homes for people opened there late last year.<\/p>\n
My colleague and I wrote about what it\u2019s like to be among the first to live at the Navy Yard.<\/a><\/p>\n Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week\u2019s edition:<\/p>\n \u2014 Michaelle Bond<\/p>\n If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.<\/a><\/p>\n The folks behind two new apartment buildings at the Navy Yard in deep South Philly are calling the area \u201cPhiladelphia\u2019s newest neighborhood.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Sure the neighboring buildings are the only ones that house residents and you have to drive to get groceries, but some of the first residents of the apartments say that\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n I visited the property in early March when the first tenants were moving in. My colleague Erin McCarthy went back this month. More people live in the buildings now, but about 70% of the 614 units still await tenants.<\/p>\n Renter Integra Feliciano told me the area is \u201cstill up-and-coming in terms of having more restaurants and stuff\u201d but called the Navy Yard \u201ca little gem.\u201d<\/p>\n She and another resident Erin and I talked to said they\u2019re not really city people, which is why they like living at the Navy Yard. There\u2019s a lot of open space, and free parking is plentiful.<\/p>\n The national apartment brand AVE opened the Constitution building late last year and the Normandy building this spring. Normandy includes both unfurnished apartments and furnished units marketed to business travelers. <\/p>\n Navy Yard stakeholders eventually want to see thousands of apartments in the area.<\/p>\n Keep reading to learn more about the first new homes to open at the Navy Yard and meet some of the early residents.<\/a><\/p>\n Have you seen orange signs around your neighborhood that say \u201cTheir Profit. Your Loss!\u201d?<\/p>\n In recent months, \u201cBuild Fair Philly\u201d signs have popped up on rowhouses and lawns across the city. The campaign calls out the practice of shoddy and harmful real estate development.<\/p>\n Peter Kim in Passyunk said that when he found a flyer on his door, he figured it was from \u201csome NIMBY [not in my backyard] anti-housing group.\u201d<\/p>\n But the organization behind the campaign is actually the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.<\/p>\n The union is generally pro-development since building means work for its members. But the Carpenters are encouraging Philly residents to join its push for more regulation in the construction industry.<\/p>\n Learn more about the campaign and the Build Fair Philly pledge that thousands of people have signed.<\/a><\/p>\n The latest news to pay attention to<\/p>\n Come for the cute dog; stay for the energy efficiency.<\/p>\n With utility prices as high as they are<\/a>, I\u2019m always interested to hear about how folks are keeping costs down. Chuong Nguyen says he pays almost nothing to heat his Brewerytown house and about $100 a month total for all his utilities.<\/p>\n It all comes down to Nguyen\u2019s focus when he was house hunting. He chose his home because it was a rare find: a multiunit Zero Energy Ready house.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t have to turn on the heat until the outside temperature dips well below freezing, he said, because his home is well insulated, and windows let in sunlight all year.<\/p>\n Nguyen\u2019s passion for living with a low carbon footprint stems from his childhood in Vietnam and eight years living in France.<\/p>\n In Brewerytown, Nguyen lives with his Yorkie poodle, Milo, in the two-bedroom upper unit and rents the two-bedroom lower unit on Airbnb. He furnished the house with secondhand items, mostly from Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n Peek inside Nguyen\u2019s energy-efficient home and discover which fashion statement makes Milo a neighborhood favorite.<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7 Photo quiz<\/p>\n Do you know the location this photo shows?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcee If you think you do, email me back.<\/a><\/p>\n Last week\u2019s quiz featured a photo of the new 150-foot mural \u201cWelcome to Philly\u201d by artist Alloyius McIlwaine on the 1000 block of Market Street.<\/a><\/p>\n Shout-out to Nikol L. for knowing that location.<\/p>\n Enjoy the rest of your week.<\/p>\n