Abandoned brick warehouses sit among tan and white row homes and brown brick townhouses along the narrow blocks of Fishtown. Among these homes and occasional testaments to Philadelphia's industrial past on Berks Street, however, are lime green, three-story edifices with dark awnings and enclosed wooden decks.

Developers of the Rag Flats project [Cityspace, "Wholly Trinity," Trey Popp, June 2, 2005] recently showed off their work at an event titled "Redefining Neighborhoods Through Housing." Their presentation came as part of "Vacant Property Defined," a series of displays and linked lectures "examining innovative strategies for reclamation and development" exhibiting at the University of Pennsylvania Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, 3101 Walnut St., through Dec. 12.

The inclusion of Rag Flats, which is being developed by Onion Flats, made sense, considering the architects' urban experiment meant facing the challenge of packing living space into small areas, in a growing neighborhood.

Using the spaces between was crucial for the architects. While carving three-story spaces out of such narrow buildings, the architects had to gain inches anywhere they could. The staircases are made of steel and built with open space underneath, and landings are built as balconies overhanging the rooms below to give the illusion of openness. John McDonald of Onion Flats described the decks built onto the trinities as living spaces, not just auxiliary areas.

"These are simple homes. Trinities are all about variety," McDonald said, as he presented a slide of the inside of a home.

But the unusually vibrant color scheme and thoughtful design of the Rag Flats trinities and row homes doesn't come cheap. The homes are selling for $350,000 to $480,000 each. Despite the price, McDonald says owners vary from young to old, with a range of incomes.

"Philadelphia is well known for its well-mingled communities," he said.

As McDonald showed pictures of the neighborhood's dilapidated areas, he mentioned Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI) program. While he says he is excited about city efforts to reduce neighborhood blight, he is frustrated because NTI is essentially a demolition project, not one which creates communities. He hopes politicians will make neighborhood blight a bigger priority, and that community organizations will take serious interest in neighborhoods around the city. Still, McDonald decided as he began working on the project two and a half years ago, "The program really doesn't matter because it's the communities that take charge," he said. "It's not the city that makes the change."