QUEEN VILLAGE NEIGHBORS WITNESS A DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION AS REVITALIZATION EFFORTS CONTINUE IN THIS HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY

Looking south today from the corner of Queen and Swanson streets in historic Queen Village, you would be hard pressed to believe that just two years ago, this block was home to a malodorous chicken slaughterhouse, a shabby boat storage facility, and a row of vacant, dilapidated industrial buildings.

Bordered by Queen Street to the north, Swanson to the east, and Christian Street to the south, what was once the last industrialized block in Queen Village is now the site of a chic townhome community that has played a key role in the revitalization of this vibrant Philadelphia neighborhood.

Crumbling exteriors and boarded, broken, or graffiti-etched glass panes have been replaced by elegant brick facades with charming wrought-iron details and distinctive Palladian windows. Streetlights, inviting stoops, and well-manicured backyards take the place of vacant lots and hazardous piles of debris. But despite the once-dismal state of this largely abandoned block, approval for the new 50-home project was not a given.

While its eclectic shops, great bistros, and prime location have attracted an increasingly young, professional demographic, Queen Village, widely recognized as Philadelphia's oldest neighborhood, has long embraced its rich past, giving careful scrutiny to proposals for new development. Ruggiero Development Group, the developers behind the Independence Court townhome community, kept the interests of residents in mind from the start, consulting with the Queen Village Neighbors Association (QVNA) early and often.

"We involved QVNA in this project right from the beginning," said Dyanna Ruggiero Burns of Ruggiero Development, now a Queen Village resident herself. "We worked with them on everything, and we looked to them for approval. Our goal from the start was to contribute to the renewal of this community - to become a true part of the neighborhood."

Ruggiero's proactive approach proved to be just what the community was looking for. By all accounts, the project has been a success for the city of Philadelphia, the newly-revitalized neighborhood of Queen Village, and the townhomes' builder, Tropea Communities. With Phase II of the development now being offered, Independence Court is 50 percent sold out.

The townhomes offer a striking improvement to the decaying buildings that once occupied this block, and their architecture and design are an ideal complement to their historic surroundings. Perhaps most impressively, the dramatic transformation has inspired Queen Village locals to stop by the Tropea sales office to thank the builder for coming to town, and to welcome this newest resident to the neighborhood.

For more information about Independence Court at Queen Village, contact Dyanna Ruggiero Burns at 215-467-1373.

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