We've been careful to document, in sometimes excruciating detail, all of the changes that have been happening on Frankford Avenue in recent years. Below Girard, Barcade is thriving, old buildings are being turned into apartments, and big plans for an entertainment district near Delaware Ave. are just on the horizon. Where Frankford meets Girard, several newer bars and restaurants have turned this intersection into the nexus of the neighborhood and a destination for people from outside the area. Moving up Frankford Ave., we've seen a ton of new businesses open and plenty of new buildings replace vacant lots. And in other cases, older buildings have been fixed up to accommodate new stores with apartments above. Such is the case at 2226 Frankford Ave., pictured below.
Previously, this building looked kind of terrible. According to an old listing, it was slightly damaged in a fire, but the 19th century facade remained. In particular, though, the storefront looked awful and utterly uninviting to any possible tenant. A private investor bought the building, which sits on an 18'x100' lot, at the end of 2012. Today, the look of the building is much improved.
As you can see, the new storefront is the big story here. According to permits, this building now contains three (obviously renovated) apartments. The first floor will contain a professional office of some kind. Does anyone in the neighborhood know what's coming?
We're hopeful that it's an office that offers some service to the neighborhood, like a doctor's office or an accountant or something like that. While the growth of retail in the area makes it a more fun place to live, every neighborhood still has some basic service needs to be met. But even if it's just a private office that provides some jobs, we still consider this a big win, considering what the building looked like before.
Now, if only someone could do something about the vacant lots next door. But we're patient. We're willing to bet that they'll disappear pretty soon- it certainly seems likely, given the momentum on the rest of the corridor.