Spotlight on Mount Airy, Philadelphia
Mount Airy, a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, is best known for its diverse community, historic homes, business district, and scenic trails along the Wissahickon Creek. In 1750, a summer estate was built on Germantown Avenue at Allens Lane by the Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania; the area eventually adopted the name of the mansion, Mount Airy, as its own. The area is rich with history, as it was the site where troops fought the Battle of Germantown during the American Revolutionary War. Mount Airy is recognized as one of the first successfully integrated neighborhoods in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and is also home to the Johnson House Historic Site, one of the few stops on the Underground Railroad that the public can still visit.
Germantown Avenue, a prominent local thoroughfare, unites East Mount Airy and West Mount Airy. The road, which was once where British troops marched during the Revolutionary War, has become a commercial corridor with numerous new restaurants, cafés, and retailers. The town hosts the popular ‘Final-ly Friday’ festival on the last Friday of the month, drawing in foodies to come eat, drink, and enjoy some of the area's best restaurants and food trucks. The area is also in close proximity to the Wissahickon Creek as well as its surrounding parkland and has become a destination for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and runners to explore the 1,600-acre park.
Mount Airy is now home to more than 27,000 people and offers residents a suburban atmosphere 20 minutes outside of Center City Philadelphia. Residents have access to two Septa Regional Rail lines: the Chestnut Hill East line which stops at Mount Airy, Sedgewick, Stenton, and Washington Lane in East Mount Airy; and the Chestnut Hill West line which stops at Allen Lane, Carpenter, Upsal, and Tulpehocken in West Mount Airy. Bus routes H, XH, and 23 also serve the area and commuters are just minutes from Interstate 76.
The featured properties in this month’s rent survey represent six communities in Mount Airy built between 1927 and 1960. Average occupancy rates for these communities range from 94% to 100%. Average rental rates per square foot range from $1.18 to $1.78, with average unit sizes ranging from 484 to 949 square feet. Common area amenities include an on-site laundry facilities, fitness centers, courtyards, swimming pools, and on-site Zipcars. Unit amenities feature hardwood flooring or wall-to-wall carpeting, ceiling fans, and renovated kitchens and bathrooms. Residents pay an application fee ranging from $35 to $59 and post security deposits from $300 to two month’s rent. Pets are allowed in some communities with some breed restrictions; residents pay pet deposits of $100 to $300. Residents are responsible for gas and electric in a majority of the communities and landlords are generally responsible for water, sewer, and
trash removal.