Ethos

Philadelphia’s buildings are a physical telling of the history of America. Without anyone ever having to say a word, there’s a story you can hear just by listening to the architecture in all of our neighborhoods. We feel endlessly inspired by that story … especially as it is told by Philadelphia’s industrial-era buildings that once fulfilled such important mercantile functions in their time. It is their story in particular (and the notion of adding another respectful layer to it) that compels us to salvage, restore and re-purpose old manufacturing buildings whose former uses are no longer needed, but who’s future can be re-envisioned.

The character of Philadelphia that exists precisely because of its history is something that matters to us. And we want to be guardians of that, even as we seek to execute our building strategies in new and more environmentally responsible ways.

Philadelphia is about CULTURE — which is a unique blend of it’s ART, it’s FOOD, it’s MUSIC, it’s green spaces, as well as it’s representation of diverse populations that fashion a tapestry of co-existing peoples from so many different backgrounds.

We’re inspired by all of these things too, and while none of us are specifically artists, chefs or musicians … we feel devoted to supporting these pieces of heritage, flavor, and identity in the Philadelphia neighborhoods we’ve chosen to work in. We do this by curating local art for our interiors, murals for our buildings, music events with local musicians for our neighborhood gatherings and creative collaborations with local arts and education organizations. We want what we create in our city to support and uplift what makes Philadelphia’s feel like such a vital and interesting place to live.

Philadelphia has also always been about COMMUNITY. We feel a deep love and respect for the character that makes each neighborhood in our city unique … and think that Philadelphia is only as fantastic as it is because of how many different communities contribute to the ONE community that is the city as a whole. Rather than being careless with or stepping on the communities that already exist in the places where we’re renovating or constructing … we have sought instead to strengthen and contribute to what is already there, after first learning about that by listening to the people who become our neighbors. We then become rather devoted to finding ways to bring old neighbors and new neighbors together — with block parties, community dinners, neighborhood concerts and by making our amenities ones that encourage connection rather than isolation.

We’ve come to believe that feeling at Home for any of us requires a sense of belonging. And a strong community is the ground out of which belonging most often seems to grow.