June 15, 2011

A prominent West Philly-based developer is in the process of buying the ominous Croydon apartment building at 49th and Locust, which has become a haven for squatters and was the site of a rooftop murder in 2007.

Orens Brothers Real Estate Inc., whose main office is on the 4400 block of Chestnut, is expected to finalize the purchase of the building soon and begin work to rehabilitate the building by early next month, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell said by phone yesterday. The firm’s officials told community members during a meeting on Monday that it plans to keep the complex’s original eight-story center structure and four-story wings intact and renovate its 127 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units.

A Sheriff’s Office official confirmed that building had been sold last week for $1.75 million. The building was put up for sheriff’s sale in January because the previous owners owed more than $200,000 in back taxes.

Orens Brothers has restored and rented several buildings in Philadelphia, including the luxury apartments at 2200 Arch St. In West Philly, the firm owns the apartment building on the southside of the 4400 block of Walnut (4404-4418 Walnut St.).

A boarded up eyesore rising above the West Philadelphia High School athletic field, the Croydon is known to squatters as “Paradise City.” The building was known across the city for a few days in June 2007 when a squatter, 28-year-old Tim Bradly of Philadelphia, was found dead on the building’s roof. Another squatter confessed to beating Bradly and dropping a cinder block on his head.

The Croydon building plays a large role in the documentary Squatter Days by James C. Fattu.