That reflects a 7 percent decline in city prices since the market's peak here in 2007.
"I had several owners call me about selling," Block said. "Once they realized the size of the check they'd have to write to get out, they decided to rent their unit instead."
For Toll, which made millions building in the suburbs over four decades, Naval Square is a sea change.
"A historic renovation of an urban-infill property is a very atypical project for Toll Bros.," said Gillen. "I would love to know why they chose to do it."
There were moments when now-executive chairman Robert I. Toll wondered why, too.
At its 2005 dedication, he said that at times he had lost patience with the project. President and chief operating officer Zvi Barzilay, who envisioned it, urged him on.
Toll built Naval Square, but two decades of diligence by the neighborhood and preservationists shaped it. Neighbors lost one battle, however, over the thing all the buyers interviewed mentioned when asked why they had picked Naval Square:
The Gate.
Locals argued, recalled Terry Gillen, executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, that "you either are a part of the neighborhood, or you aren't."
The gate still makes longtime residents angry, even as Southwest Center City improves and buyers point to the security it seems to ensure as a major attraction.
Said Silver: "Even though things change for the better every week, it is still a transitional neighborhood."
Yet many prospective buyers object to the gate, Block noted, saying they tell him: " 'I am not interested in Naval Square because I want more of a real city neighborhood feel, not the feel of a suburban gated community.' "
Terry Gillen, who has lived in Grays Ferry for 25 years, was among the local advocates and preservationists who battled Toll for more than two decades to "make sure they did it right."
When the Naval Home closed in 1976, a ward leader first proposed the site for public housing. Toll optioned the site in 1981, buying it in 1988 for $1.2 million.
Because the site is a national and local historic landmark - the neoclassical Biddle Hall, designed by William Strickland in the 1833, is one reason - Toll's plans were subject to extensive review.
"They wanted to demolish everything and build suburban houses," said Terry Gillen. "Then they wanted to build a high-rise at Grays Ferry Avenue and Bainbridge Streets. They even wanted to take down all the trees."
They didn't, and the parklike quality of Naval Square's grounds is cited as a factor in buyers' decisions. As is the recently opened pool.
"It seems to have encouraged people to interact with each other even more," Smyth said.
Contact real estate writer Alan J. Heavens at 215-854-2472 or aheavens@phillynews.com.
