Philly Rent: What $1,500 Rents Right Now

From a flashy Center City 1-bedroom to a vintage Roxborough twin, rehabs take all forms

Welcome to a special edition of Curbed Comparisons, a dive into the options available for a certain price point in various neighborhoods. For Renovation Week, here are five rentals that have been renovated and are up for grabs. Is one person's loft makeover another person's revamped townhouse? Let's find out! Today's price: $1,500/month.

Logan Square ( 1 bed, 1 bath ) — Just about across the street from Eakins Oval and the Rocky statue sits the massive modernist facade and terraced roof decks of The Parkway House, the first Philly building designed by a woman in 1951. This 700-square-foot apartment on the 10th floor has a newly renovated kitchen, parquet floors, and looks up Spring Garden toward Broad Street. The building also sports a renovated lobby and fitness center. It’s a pet-friendly place and has a shared roof deck.

Squirrel Hill (3 beds, 1 bath)—This two-story apartment over in West Philly features new floors, a renovated kitchen and bath, central heat and A/C, and a washer and dryer in the unit. It’s located a few blocks from Baltimore Avenue restaurants and Cedar Park. UPenn and Drexel are longer walks, but the location is easy on public transportation. There’s a fenced in rear yard for small dogs, or cats. Water and trash removal is included in the $1,500 monthly rent.

Point Breeze (2 bed, 1 bath)—Here’s just one home in this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood that’s undergone a flip, namely in the kitchen and bathroom. The 1,040-square-foot rowhome is within walking distance to the Broad Street Line and new haunts like the American Sardine Bar. Washer and dryer in the unit.

Temple ( 3 beds, 1 bath )—This newly remodeled second-floor apartment is just a few blocks from Temple and Broad Street in a neighborhood that is becoming more and more student-centered. There is a locked common entrance to the building, and a common front porch shared with two other units. For $1,500 the unit features an updated kitchen, carpeted floors, a washer/dryer, and air conditioning.

Manayunk (3 beds, 1.5 baths )—At $1,550/month, this 3-bedroom home wants is the most expensive starting rent on this week’s list. But it does offer a fair bit of outdoor space with its front porch and rear yard in a neighborhood where space can be at a premium. The house has newly finished wood floors, a renovated kitchen with new appliances, and old-fashioned cast iron radiator heat. The full bath is old-school and small, but a first floor laundry room and half bath takes off some of the pressure.