Skip to content
Real Estate
Link copied to clipboard

On the Market: A farmhouse oasis in the middle of Philadelphia

"Walk out the door and there are 50 miles of biking and hiking trails," the owner said, describing her Andorra neighborhood. "It feels like another world, but it's still in Philadelphia."

GARY SCHEMPP/Edberg Photography

When Maureen Mastroieni and her husband were looking for a new home in 1986, she wanted an oasis.

"I was working in a pretty high-pressure environment in New York City," she said.

When they pulled up to a five-room farmhouse in Andorra that had been built in 1812, there were six deer on the lawn.

"This was my sanctuary," she said. "There's no actual street frontage, just a long driveway. In Philly!"

The couple began extensive renovations after making settlement. "We doubled the size of the house," she said.

They added a bathroom, living room, bedroom, front porch, and rear deck. Outside, they also added several koi ponds.

They left two major elements of the home alone: the original exterior farmhouse walls and the screened-in porch. "When we first toured the house, the seller said, 'This is the best room in the house,'" Mastroieni said. "He was right, and it still is."

The couple loved entertaining on the porch and having breakfast while enjoying the view, she said.

"My mother called it the tree house since it sits high above the Cresheim Creek, surrounded by trees," she said.

The property is adjacent to Wissahickon Valley Park on two sides, which Mastroieni said was just another perk of living in her Andorra neighborhood.

"Walk out the door and there are 50 miles of biking and hiking trails," she said. "It feels like another world, but it's still in Philadelphia."

Mastroieni said she always knew she'd be in her home for 30 years. Now that it's been 31, she's ready to downsize.

"Now I've got a condo in Florida and a 33-foot sailboat on the Delaware, and a job that I can take with me wherever I go," she said. "But first I need to find someone who will love this new-old house for the next 30 years!"

The home is listed with Louise Dalessandro at Elfant Wissahickon for $589,900. Click here for the complete listing >>