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On The Market: Wireworks condo with private patio

The Wireworks was built in 1870, lending DiCosmo and Smith’s 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit interesting features like exposed beams, high ceilings and lots of brick.

The Wireworks was built in 1870, lending DiCosmo and Smith’s 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit interesting features like exposed beams, high ceilings and lots of brick. (Jennifer Golden)
The Wireworks was built in 1870, lending DiCosmo and Smith’s 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit interesting features like exposed beams, high ceilings and lots of brick. (Jennifer Golden)Read more

On the Market profiles homes for sale in the Philadelphia region.

Old City circa 1991 was an entirely different place. The first of the First Fridays had just been organized by a small group of gallery owners. The Continental was a glimmer in Stephen Starr's eye. The Wireworks, Bridgeview Place and The Castings had recently become the first neighborhood condo conversions.

Francesca DiCosmo and husband Leslie Smith had been married two years and were looking for a home near La Truffe – the restaurant Smith owned on Front Street off Market – and DiCosmo's office in Society Hill, when Smith got a tip about a unit in the new Wireworks conversion.

"We went to look at the unit and fell in love immediately," DiCosmo said. "So we bought it."

Now they are among a rarefied community of owners who can recall the pioneering days in the neighborhood.

The Wireworks was built in 1870, lending DiCosmo and Smith's unit interesting features like exposed beams, high ceilings and lots of brick. DiCosmo is especially fond of the deep window wells and the Pennsylvania blue stone walls exposed in the dining room and kitchen, which make the unit an unusual property on the condo market.

"The unit really works more like a small townhome than a condominium," she said.

After making the purchase in 1991, DiCosmo and Smith upgraded both bathrooms and both bedrooms. They also installed a gourmet eat-in kitchen with Italian ceramic floors, high-end appliances and double ovens. The master bedroom now also includes an air jet spa bathtub.

The unit is on the garden level of the building, which also means it includes a private patio.

"We've been seen enjoying a meal and a cocktail [there]," DiCosmo said.

DiCosmo said that although she and Smith have enjoyed the 24 years they've lived in the neighborhood, warmer climates that often come with retirement are calling.

"My husband and I have enjoyed many wonderful years living in Old City," she said. "It's time for a change in the next stage of our lives together."

The unit is listed by Tom Greer of the Dominic Fuscia Team at Coldwell Banker for $450,000.

Click here to view the listing >>