Market-great housing

Anthony Secreto knew how badly his wife Bernadette wanted to return to South Philly. So he camped out for four days before Jefferson Square homes went on the selling block at 10 a.m. Monday to ensure the couple would get one of 14 four-bedroom townhomes up for grabs.

And they did.

Now the couple from Spinnerstown, near Quakertown, are the proud owners of a $249,000 dream home at the newly constructed development near Fourth and Reed.

"This was my husband’s present to me — waiting in line. He knew I wanted to come back to Philly so bad," said Bernadette, as her tears of joy flowed freely.

Bernadette took her husband’s place in a line of about 50 people so he could return to work early Monday. When Summit Real Estate opened at 10 a.m., she couldn’t rush through the doors fast enough to plunk down the required deposit and select one of three models available.

How fitting that the first Jefferson Square home was sold to none other than a South Philly native and his wife.

Anthony Secreto was born and raised in Bella Vista and still has family there. Bernadette’s sister lives in nearby Queen Village, while her mother lives further south.

But it wasn’t just family and friends that drew the couple back to this area. The Secretos missed all the charm and convenience of the big city, said Bernadette.

One of the things she likes most about her new home is its location. The 93 homes in the development are within walking distance to the Italian Market and South Street.

The price was also right for the Secretos and so many others.

The three- and four-bedroom units range from $209,000 to $249,000. All have basements, garages, central air-conditioning and a 10-year tax abatement.

Tin Hyynh, 27, from Center City, spent more than a year searching for a home in South Philly that was in his price range. After hearing that Jefferson Square was a good deal, he decided to line up around midnight Monday and see for himself. An information-technology consultant who travels a lot for his job, Hyynh said he likes that Jefferson Square is located near all the major highways and the airport.

If Hyynh did secure the four-bedroom townhome, his friends would surely be thrilled.

"It fits my lifestyle. I have a lot of friends who like to crash," he said with a laugh.

Old friends will join new friends when the first homeowners begin moving into their dwellings in a few months.

Many new friendships were formed among those standing in line, and many people already know some of their neighbors, said Bernadette.

"Waiting in line, the camaraderie was above and beyond what I anticipated," she said. "We all shared food, and when it rained, we huddled together."

One man even brought a large white canopy under which dozens sought shelter from Sunday night’s soaking rain.

And the hospitality extended beyond the prospective homebuyers.

Summit Real Estate owner Mike Rotella provided refreshments and portable potties for the crowd lined up outside his office at 113 Washington Ave. Bright and early Monday, doughnuts and coffee were waiting.

On Friday night, First District Councilman Frank DiCicco paid a visit to the people "sleeping out," as if for concert tickets.

As he chatted his way down the line, he was pleased to see all the young faces, mostly in their 20s, he said.

A veterinarian who had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania traveled all the way from Seattle to camp out because she wanted to move back to Philly, said DiCicco. A recent college graduate from Maryland also joined the ranks.

"That’s what’s exciting for me is that we’ve created market-rate housing for young people for their starter houses — to create a neighborhood," said the councilman, who helped develop the project. "It’s going to be a vibrant neighborhood once again."

In 1996, DiCicco set out with a plan to remove blight and create market-rate housing in the area.

"My concern was if we don’t remove the blight, it becomes a cancer that starts eating away at adjacent neighborhoods and also decreases property values," the councilman said Monday. "So we started a long journey that brought us up to today."

DiCicco gave credit to state Sen. Vincent Fumo, who he said believed in him enough at the time to support his plan for redevelopment of the area.

He also credited others involved in the long journey, including project manager Jeremey Newberg.

When Newberg began his work, the area he targeted was a four-block radius of blight — an "impoverished" zone in the shadow of the former Southwark Towers and Mt. Sinai Hospital, he said.

Early on, however, some residents accused DiCicco of gentrifying the neighborhood by driving low-income people out to make way for the new development. But that wasn’t the plan at all, according to the councilman and Newberg.

Those behind Jefferson Square felt they had an obligation to existing homeowners, said the project manager.

The 30 families who already owned homes in the area were given the option of moving into a Jefferson Square townhome or rehabbing their existing property. Of the 30, 22 said they wanted to move into Jefferson Square and two took the rehab option. The rest have either died over the years or moved elsewhere, Newberg noted.

An arrangement was made in which the 22 residents who will be moving into Jefferson Square would make no mortgage payments but gradually build equity. Those residents must pay taxes and homeowner’s insurance, added Newberg.

DiCicco said he believes other neighborhoods in the city can look to Jefferson Square as a model by which they, too, can create market-rate housing.