Tony, Wilma, et al.: It seems to me that the 4400 block of Sansom would be an excellent site for analysis, since the South side of the block is in the PAS catchment and the North side is not. From what I've observed -- and I share Ionic St as an alley with the North side of 4400 Sansom, so I've got a reasonable view of half the situation -- there is currently only one family with school-age kids on that side of the block. (And, for that matter, only one or two such families on my side of 4400 Chestnut.)
Houses on both sides of the 4400 block of Sansom have been getting rehabbed and resold in the last 3-5 years, roughly the same number on either side of the street. [The rest of the block is mostly apartments, plus a few non-rehabbed places that are single-family (some actually family-occupied, others rented to groups of students or young professionals). Of the half-dozen I can see out my kitchen window, all on the North side, there is one family w/kids and one with a young married couple of, as they say, child-bearing years. The rest are all filled with students or groups of male yups (in the non-perjorative sense). But I don't know who's buying the ones on the other side of Sansom, in the catchment area. So, to my mind, the question could be narrowed down to this: Who's occupying the rehabs on either side of this block? Is there a significant difference between the two sides, in terms of (a) occupancy and (b) price, for these rehabs? If so, then there's some evidence of what effects, if any, can be directly attributed to the PAS catchment area. Mathematicians, physicists, and molecular chemists will all tell you: it's the boundary conditions that often make the most difference. I think the same applies here. I'd also note the existence of a persistent rumor that the PAS catchment boundaries will be expanded northwards. Some versions say they'll just cover both sides of Sansom, others go as far as Chestnut, and still other versions mention Ludlow. My opinion is that buying a house on either of those streets with the hope that the catchment boundaries will change is sheer speculation, especially if you're planning to raise kids in that house and want them to attend PAS. You say that areas north of Walnut are not in the same PSD region as those south of Walnut. That makes the inclusion of even one side of Sansom in the PAS catchment a bit unusual, hmmm? -d- -----Original Message----- From: Anthony West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: UnivCity listserv <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 6:31 pm Subject: Re: [UC] Penn schools Dave,? ? I saw a map two or three years ago, which I cadged from the Press Office of the School District. There was no link, but I did describe its boundaries on UC-list. Archive junkies can find it there.? ? Your central question is quite shrewd. I didn't notice, at first glance, any sure correlation between PAS catchment area and striking jumps in housing prices. The same phenomenon has been happening in Lea and Wilson School catchment areas -- and *also* in areas north of Walnut St., which aren't even in the same School District region!? ? Not to mention there are similar spikes all all the inner ring of Philadelphia neighborhoods....? ? Of course, given a house to sell in the PAS catchment area, real-estate agents brag about PAS. What should we expect them to do -- attack it? What is missing at this time is any expert evidence of the "PAS premium", if any, in housing values compared to non-PAS houses.? ? My guess is there may be such a premium, but it's modest at best.? ? -- Tony West? ? Dave Axler wrote:? > Thanks, Wilma. I have a reasonable idea of Penn Alexander's catchment > area -- at least enough to know that, though I'm 3.5 blocks from the > school, my house is not in that area. What I'm hoping someone can > provide -- though Tony's earlier post offered some verbal insight -- > is a map showing the catchment areas for West Philadelpha HS and UCHS.? ? ----? You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the? list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see? <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.?
