The Ridge Avenue Farmers Market was one of the most impressive buildings in Francisville and also functioned as the economic center of the neighborhood for almost a century. We've covered this building before, so please raise your hand if you remember that it was constructed in 1875 in the High Victorian Gothic Style. Nobody? Oh well. If you'd like more information about the building's architecture, its 1983 nomination to the National Register of Historic Places provides all sorts of detail.
Sadly, the building fell out of use in the late 1960s and fell into disrepair as the neighborhood deteriorated. A storm in 1997 caused the roof to collapse and it was demolished soon after. The property sat vacant for a long time, with a row of townhomes finally filling in some of the parcel a few years back. Recently, we've heard rumblings that the rest of the property could be redeveloped in the near future. All of this is well and good, though we wish the old building could have stuck around for the rebirth of Francisville.
We're sad that this building is lost, but part of its memory is preserved by the building next door, which has survived the ravages of time. This property, 1800 Ridge Ave., was originally built as a small hotel for the use of vendors at the farmers market. In recent years, it's been sitting seemingly vacant and definitely blighted, and we confess that we've been concerned that it would ultimately meet the same fate as the Ridge Avenue Farmers Market. But as we told you back in October, that ain't gonna happen.
Developers bought the building last summer, paying $500K. It had been on and off the market for over a decade, with list prices as high as $1.2M. Surely that price wouldn't have worked right now, let alone in 2007. Old listings indicate that the building had been used as a rooming house for a period, with a few dozen rooms. When we last checked in on the property, we told you that the developers were looking to maintain that floor plan, with 32 residential units and retail on the first floor. It comes as no surprise to us that they're now changing their approach. Per the zoning application, the developers are looking to convert the building into a 13-unit apartment building with retail on the first floor. This seems entirely reasonable for this location, and would provide Ridge Avenue with yet another new commercial space and a bunch of new customers.
Here's to hoping the developers have success with this redevelopment effort, it will be wonderful to see this building come back into active use.