We were pretty sure that 1244 E Colona St. had already been redeveloped, and were therefore quite surprised to see it listed on a Fishtown Neighbors Association Zoning Committee agenda earlier this month. We first brought this property to your attention over three years ago, when the oddly shaped parcel included a flowery fence, a vacant home covered in ivy, and a bunch of empty space. By the summer of 2014, developers had purchased the parcel and had neighborhood support for three homes, with two fronting Colona Street and one fronting Susquehanna. We hadn't been back here since, and had simply assumed that the project happened. That wasn't the case, as the project got denied at the ZBA for some reason.

Shape of the property

In the past

If you pass by this location today, you'll see that indeed no homes have been built and the property is now a vacant lot. According to a Fishtown.us thread, the demolition took place in the last month or so.

Current view

Susquehanna side of the property

According to the FNA agenda, the developers are now looking to build a two home project. One of the homes will front Colona Street and will include a garage, while the other home will front Susquehanna and have two stacked surface parking spaces with access from Colona Street. So while the previous iteration of the project included three homes with two parking spots, the newest version will have two homes and three parking spots. That'll still work out well for the developers since the market for new construction remains quite hot in Fishtown. We're not as thrilled about the change from a land use perspective, as this parcel can certainly accommodate three homes and parking at the corner where Colona hits Thompson seems like a missed opportunity. Ah well, we'll have to wait and see what the ZBA has to say this time around.

Ice cream across the street

At least we can all agree that Scoops being across the street will be a fun amenity for whoever ends up moving to this corner. Unless someone buys it and shuts it down, of course.