Naked Philly Blog Posts Archive - OCF Realty

Jun 20

Freeman’s Auction House Will Turn Into a 20 Story Building

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Jun, 20, 2019 | No Comments | Rittenhouse

There are many people out there that believe in the virtue of architectural homogeneity, either from an aesthetic point of view or as a thinly veiled tool to push back against gentrification. To the former point, we can appreciate the perspective. The only thing better than one awesome building is a row of awesome buildings that look the same. Case in point, the 4700 block of Chestnut Street. As far as the latter point goes, we agree that three [...]
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Jun 18

On 7th Street, South Kensington Development Stretches Past Susquehanna

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Jun, 18, 2019 | 1 Comment | South Kensington

Development abounds all over South Kensington, with projects large and small dramatically changing the landscape in a neighborhood that's still emerging from a post-industrial hangover. As developers continue to buy up vacant land in the neighborhood as ever escalating prices, we're seeing the natural progression of builders pushing the boundaries to find more lots at lower prices. This is done with the understanding that projects farther north and west will result in lower sale prices and rental [...]
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Jun 17

Freewall is Gone at 5th & Bainbridge, Hotel is Finally on Track

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Jun, 17, 2019 | 4 Comments | Queen Village

For many decades, the northwest corner of 5th & Bainbridge was home to a business called John C Paul and Sons, a family owned retail/wholesale paper goods company. The business closed its doors back in 2012, and about a year later we told you that developers Atrium Design had purchased the building, along with a few neighboring properties. They came up with a plan to weave the buildings together in a project that called for a combination [...]
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Jun 14

Demolition For Peanut Gallery at 18th & Fairmount?

Categories: None

Jun, 14, 2019 | 5 Comments | Francisville

"No comments from the peanut gallery," is an expression beloved by dads and high school teachers alike, often directed in response to smart aleck kids. The phrase dates back to the days of vaudeville theatre, when patrons sitting or standing in the least expensive section of the theater were known to heckle performers and hurl peanuts at the stage. The term was later adopted by the Howdy Doody show, to describe the kids in the studio audience. Many [...]
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Jun 13

Delorean Time Machine: 2517-19 W. Girard Ave.

Categories: None

Jun, 13, 2019 | 2 Comments | Brewerytown

For a little over a century, an attractive little building has brightened the 2500 block of West Girard Avenue, but it doesn’t match anything else around it. Where did it come from? In 1915, an old blacksmith shop also used as the storefront for a junk dealer at 2517-19 W. Girard Ave. suffered a devastating fire, leaving a charred building on a large plot of land. It was purchased in 1917 by Joseph Decatur and Benjamin Weckerly, who eventually [...]
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Jun 12

City Blue Building is Expanding on North Broad Street

Categories: None

Jun, 12, 2019 | 2 Comments | West Poplar

We were making the rounds the other day and stumbled upon some significant renovation work taking place across the street from the Met. on North Broad Street. 925 N. Broad St. is a pretty unexciting commercial building, constructed with a utilitarian design around the time of the second World War. Within the last decade, the first floor was home to a furniture store, which gave way to a City Blue location that's still operating. Some old sale [...]
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Jun 11

New Building on Point Breeze Avenue is an Improvement and Also a Disappointment

Categories: None

Jun, 11, 2019 | No Comments | Point Breeze

Point Breeze has seen more residential development over the last half dozen years than perhaps any other neighborhood in Philadelphia. Even today, you'd be hard pressed to find a block north of Dickinson Street that hasn't seen some (or a ton of) construction activity over the last year. One might think that all of this construction would translate into dramatically increased commercial activity in the neighborhood- after all, more people generally want more goods and services, and [...]
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Jun 10

Wizards of the 2400 Block of Waverly Street

Categories: None

Jun, 10, 2019 | 3 Comments | Rittenhouse

The Fitler Square neighborhood often gets lumped in with the Rittenhouse neighborhood, perhaps due to the fact that Center City Residents Association has represented the interests of the entire area for decades. Further cementing the connection, Rittenhouse and Fitler Square have been part of the same local historic district since the mid-1990s. Still, Fitler Square has its own distinct character and personality, with a mix of handsome brownstones, smaller but adorable homes on narrow streets, [...]
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May 23

Several Project Updates Just Off Delaware Avenue

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May, 23, 2019 | No Comments | Old City

We were making our way to Northern Liberties the other day, and as we were passing Dave & Buster's on Delaware Ave., we spotted a couple of projects under construction just to the west. One of them, at 10 Callowhill St., we've covered previously, a little over two years ago. When you consider that we alerted you to this project more than 24 months ago, perhaps you'd think that construction would be a little further along. Looking up [...]
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May 22

What’s With the Little Building Next to Union Transfer?

Categories: None

May, 22, 2019 | No Comments | Loft District

The boundaries of the West Poplar neighborhood are from 9th Street to Broad Street, Spring Garden to Girard, but the northern and southern sides are quite different. Above Fairmount Avenue, PHA owns the vast majority of the land and the Richard Allen Homes cover most of the area. South of Fairmount, we've seen considerable market-rate development activity over the last several years, with a mix of one-off homes and block-sized projects filling in numerous vacant lots. Some [...]
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