Spruce Hill fixer-upper lists for $415K after 60 years

A beautiful Spruce Hill home with Victorian details to spare is looking for a new owner for the first time in six decades. Whoever that is will need to invest a lot of elbow grease and $415,000 to get the keys to the property.

The 5-bedroom, 1.5-bath home is located on the tree-lined Melville Street, which stretches just two blocks between Spruce and Walnut. The 2,054-square-foot Victorian rowhome has had the same owner since the 1950s and is listed as an estate sale.

“This home needs work, but the original character is amazing,” says listing agent Jeffrey Block.

Indeed, the home features details like leaded glass windows, pocket doors, and original tile in the vestibule and fireplace. But that’s all coupled with a kitchen in need of some serious renovations, scuffed up hardwood floors, and other odds and ends that require some attention.

That said, some of the hard work has already been done for the new owner: The boiler was replaced in 2016, there’s new hot water heater, and the electric has no active knob and tube wiring.

Will the home’s current state deter some from buying? Perhaps, but then again homes in Spruce Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods don’t come around that often, and when they do they tend to move pretty quickly.

The home has two open houses this weekend: Saturday, April 22 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 from 12 to 1 p.m.

• 222 S. Melville Street [City Block Team]