It's been a rough recent past for 778 S. 18th St., the building on the northwest corner of 18th & Catharine. The surrounding neighborhood has continued to improve, but as far as we can tell, the property has sat vacant for several years. It went to sheriff's sale five years ago, but it's our understanding that new ownership did nothing to change its status as a vacant corner property. Within the last few days though, a zoning notice appeared on the building.
The zoning notice announces plans for an eating and drinking establishment on the first floor and one apartment upstairs. According to a lively debate on the Southwest Center City Facebook page, the owners were initially considering a nail salon but apparently changed course because a nail place opened up relatively recently on a nearby corner of Christian Street. On Facebook, several people are excited about the plan and are advocating for additional retail within the neighborhood. Others, mostly people who live within a block of the property, are less enthusiastic and seem to prefer keeping the building residential. Of course, it's an academic debate for now, and positions could change next month when the plans will come before the community at the SOSNA zoning meeting.
It's worth noting, there was once retail at this intersection, albeit on the southeast corner. That property was home to a convenince store and a beer store over time, but was vacant in recent years. Last summer, we told you about the ongoing renovation effort to convert the property into a single-family home. That looks like it's finished now, and we're pleased to see they maintained the interesting little window on the second floor on the Catharine Street side.
Perhaps, in the future, the retail shoe will be on the opposite corner (that's an awful turn of phrase, sorry). We'll try to make it to next month's SOSNA zoning meeting and will pass along additional info as we learn more. In the meantime, in the abstract, do you think that a restaurant is a good move at 18th & Catharine?