Penthouse for Him?

by Alex Dubliet

The corner penthouse in the Society Hill West Tower offers a panoramic view down the Delaware River past the Walt Whitman Bridge and through the Center City skyscrapers. In Philly's current condo-happy era, the cozy, 750 square-foot one-bedroom space is in demand. But since 1999, it's been the subject of a nasty dispute pitting neighbor against neighbor.

On one side is Betty Gaines, the current resident who took over the space after her brother Robert Moore died. ("People were sliding notes under my door, telling me they'd buy the place before I could even bury my brother," she says.) On the other is her neighbor, 28-year building resident Dennis Waterman. At issue is whether Waterman, who wants to tear down walls to double the size of his condo, has a legal claim to the space, which Gaines agreed to sell to him for $132,500 more than six years ago.

Gaines says she would have gladly sold the condo to Waterman — had he come to the closing table with money on Sept. 30, 1999. "He never called, never did anything. They kept pushing [the sale date] back and pushing it back, so I'm sitting there paying money for it," says Gaines, who then decided she wanted to kill the deal.

Not so fast, said Waterman and his attorney, Harold Rosenthal, who — offering a much different version of events — say Gaines remains obligated to sell at the same price. (This, even though Gaines had the condo reappraised three years ago at more than $200,000. Current residents estimate it'd go for at least $300,000 today.) Waterman claims Gaines failed to obtain a bond required by the title company, which prevented the settlement from occurring on time. When he took the matter to court, a judge agreed that Gaines was bound to hold up her end of the deal.

"My client tried every way to find some compromise," Rosenthal says, but that was impossible, "and we found out why — because she wanted to live there herself."

Gaines, who says she doesn't want to stay in the sparcely decorated condo, says she's received letters from Waterman's attorney demanding $2,000 a month in rent since the decision. "It wasn't about the money," she says. "It's about what they are putting me through now, when I know they were wrong when they didn't show up."

Waterman says he's wanted the condo all along.

"I have been looking forward to this for six years," he says. "We can close out the deal tomorrow."

That day could soon arrive. Gaines, who appealed Common Pleas and Superior Court decisions, will soon find out whether the state Supreme Court agrees with her, or whether it's time to move.