Part of what goes into writing Naked Philly is walking, biking, and driving around different neighborhoods, attempting to find upcoming development or ongoing construction. A fringe benefit of doing all of this meandering is that we often stumble upon interesting buildings that we otherwise would never have encountered. One such building is 1232 N 25th St., an unusual home that we first noticed over a year ago.

The building

Sure, the home has a number of unique architectural details, but most interesting is the fact that the remaining original structure is too narrow to accomodate a front door, and ingress is only possible via an addition that was clearly tacked on many years after the home was originally built. We’re guessing there was some alternate structure that existed prior to this addition that looked like the adjacent building, but we can’t find any photos of what that might have looked like.

More frontal view shows just how skinny it is

About a year ago, the property was offered for sale for a few months at a price just below $35K. Last summer, it seems that Secure Holdings LLC purchased the property, along with the vacant lot next door, for a mere $7,000. Forgive our skepticism, but we’d imagine the low price reflected in public record is probably an error.

Absurdly low price or not, this developer now owns the properties pictured above, and according to a thread on Philadelphia Speaks, intends to demolish the skinny home. In its place will rise a new construction, ten unit building with rear decks and an interior courtyard. The Philly Speaks thread speculates that the development will target students, which seems like a very reasonable assumption to us.

It’s a real bummer that this unique building seems doomed, and we wonder whether it could be financially feasible to integrate the existing building into a new development. On the other hand, we’re guessing the neighbors on the block who have had to stare at this blighted property for years are just happy it’s being redeveloped. Considering the condition of other blocks in the vicinity, this one is in relatively good shape.

Across the street

Let’s at least hope that the developers opt for something with a little architectural creativity, and don’t simply replace a unique property with a boring, boxy, stucco mess. Fingers crossed.