7/1/2005
Realty speculators seek profits in Phila.
Earni Young
Philadelphia Daily News

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The 40 riders on the NYC Cash Flow tour include whites, African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. There are young singles, including Fath, and middle-aged boomers traveling in pairs or alone.

Some are on their third or fourth trip to Philly. Others, such as Joy Taylor, are seeing the city for the first time.

Taylor, 43, says she heard a lot about Philadelphia from family members who live in Pennsylvania. "They said there were a lot of opportunities and when I found the NYC Cash Flow site on the Internet, I was very excited. I knew I had to take this tour," says Taylor.

Taylor and her husband own a small restaurant in Brooklyn and two six-unit apartment buildings on which they did much of the rehab work. They want to tackle something bigger, but New York real-estate prices are too high.

Ideally, Taylor is looking for a property with enough space for them to operate a small restaurant, with additional space that can provide rental income, she says.

Several boarded-up buildings in Nicetown, an area west of Temple University's medical campus, catch her eye and she jots down the addresses as they flash by.

"I do see a lot of opportunities for a lot of development, especially for a small investor like myself," she says.

Karen Tully, 49, a graphic artist who lives in a 300-square- foot studio in Brooklyn's gritty Red Hook section, gazes longingly at Liberties Walk.

The collection of white sandstone buildings with apartments built atop chic galleries and restaurants "is exactly the kind of place I can see myself living," says Tully.

Tully is amazed to hear one of the airy one-bedroom apartments could be had for roughly the same rent on her studio in Red Hook.

Tully, who works from home, is contemplating leaving the Big Apple behind for a live-work loft in Philly. Just call the bus trip home work.