On the Market: Converted warehouse in Olde Kensington for $1.5M

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

Fred Kenner may have one of the easiest commutes.

Kenner, a photographer, just has to walk down the stairs to get to work every morning in his Olde Kensington home and office.

When he purchased the old warehouse in 2001, that was exactly what he wanted.

"I was looking for both a studio and house," Kenner said of the property that is located just north of Girard Avenue near Northern Liberties and Fishtown. "I saw there was a big, clear span in here and not a lot of columns. [At the time] I could see it working for me photographically."

The warehouse had been empty for seven years before Kenner moved in and it was deteriorating.

But the photographer, a South Jersey native who had lived in many lofts in New York City, had a vision for making the space a loft.

"I had a pretty good imagination for what could happen," he said.

Months of work and more than a dozen trips to the dumpster later, Kenner converted the 5,000-square-foot building into a simple work and living space.

He kept most of the space open, and added a loft space upstairs where he put his bedroom and bathroom.

On the main floor area, there's a modern kitchen and sitting area, laundry room, and other storage and utility space.

There's also his studio space, where he installed his 34- by 36-foot photography backdrop, known as a cyc wall.

In one of the listing photos, you can see a car that Kenner was photographing.

He also installed radiant heating on the floors and two HVAC systems.

As for the outside, Kenner cleaned up the backyard and put in a patio area and shed.

The home, which stands out on a street full of row homes, has a 14-by-16-foot garage door.

After calling the space both his home and office for more than a decade, Kenner has decided to sell it. He has listed the home for $1.5 million.

He said having his studio and home as one "made everything a lot easier," and he was able to rent it out to other photographers over the years. But now he feels the "time is right" to sell.

"I want to switch gears and live out in the country somewhere," he said.

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The home is listed with Mike McCann and Richard A. Fravel, Jr. of BHHS Fox & Roach