Naked Philly Blog Posts Archive - Page 3 of 623 - OCF Realty

Feb 28

American Metals Building Will Disappear Soon From Girard Avenue

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Feb, 28, 2020 | No Comments | Northern Liberties

Though it may seem these days like everyone and their brother is a real estate developer, it's actually a pretty risky way to make a living. As we've described many times over the years, the zoning process introduces a tremendous amount of risk to any development, adding a layer of community involvement and political input from District Councilpeople that increases timelines and generally leads to lower density, increased parking demands, less height, and diminished commercial activity. [...]
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Feb 27

Apartment Building Rises Next to Wissahickon Septa Station, With Parking For Some Reason

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Feb, 27, 2020 | No Comments | Manayunk

One of the most attractive features of Manayunk and Roxborough is the proximity and reliability of the Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line. Running every half hour during rush hour and every hour during off times, this train will get you downtown in 15-20 minutes, depending on your departure and arrival stations. This is better than driving into Center City for a number of reasons, avoiding I-76, eliminating the hassle of parking, and reducing your carbon footprint. [...]
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Feb 25

Will We See a Six Story Mixed-Use Building at York & Aramingo?

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Feb, 25, 2020 | No Comments | Fishtown

The sizable property at 2636 E. York St. has a lengthy industrial history, as you might suspect from looking at it. Turning the clock back to the 1800s, Washington Flint Glassworks made its home here, later giving way to a business called Auto Parts Salvage Company. Gotta love a business with a name that clearly describes what it does. In recent years, the old warehouse was painted blue and Kirk Kredell Hardware operated here, a local [...]
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Feb 24

A New Addition and Some Upcoming Demolition on the 900 Block of Federal

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Feb, 24, 2020 | No Comments | Passyunk Square

The 900 block of Federal Street is a delightful Passyunk Square block, sitting just off the Italian Market, across from Capitolo Playground, and mere steps from Pat's and Geno's. This being Philadelphia though, of course there's a little bit of weirdness to consider. First, at the beginning of the block, there are a pair of garages that were surely used historically for storage for businesses on 9th Street. You can see, however, that one of [...]
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Feb 20

There’s a Yachtsman Sized Hole on Frankford Avenue

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Feb, 20, 2020 | No Comments | Fishtown

Though we never set foot inside, we were always transfixed by the rounded Formstone-clad building at the corner of Frankford Avenue and Jefferson Street. According to Inga Saffron, the building at 1444 Frankford Ave. possessed a rich history, having been constructed as a red brick home in the 1860s or the 1870s. After about a hundred years, the building was converted into a bar called Dyer's, with a rooming house upstairs. It was around this time that [...]
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Feb 19

Twelve Story Building Will Replace Awful Shopping Center at 5th & Spring Garden???

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Feb, 19, 2020 | No Comments | Northern Liberties

We first drew your attention to the terrible Liberty Shopping Plaza at 501 Spring Garden St. waaaaay back in 2011. At the time, we likened this shopping center to a jail for stores and offered a recommendation to tear it down and start over at this prominent location. More recently, we revisited the shopping center and noted that it had become slightly more friendly to shoppers, with a few storefronts breaking through the exterior of the building [...]
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Feb 18

Reduced Apartment Building Under Construction on Ludlow, Sister Building Will Follow Suit

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Feb, 18, 2020 | No Comments | West Philly

We've been looking at two potential projects on the 4400 blocks of Chestnut and Ludlow for half a decade, following along as the plans have evolved over the years. First, in 2015, we told you that Orens Brothers intended to build a pair of apartment buildings at 4415 Chestnut St. and 4415 Ludlow St., potentially with a bridge connecting the two. By 2018, those plans had changed, as the developers presented clearer plans for 110 apartments on Chestnut [...]
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Feb 17

500 Apartments Would Be Better Than Bus Parking For a Delaware Avenue Property

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Feb, 17, 2020 | No Comments | Northern Liberties

By all accounts, the Delaware River waterfront should be one of the most attractive parts of Philadelphia. And yet, for a host of reasons, that ain't the case. We'd contend that I-95 has been the primary limiting factor for development along the waterfront over the last several decades, cutting the water off from the rest of the city. Barring an unexpected "Big Dig" level infrastructure project (please don't hold your breath), this won't be changing any time soon, unfortunately. [...]
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Feb 13

Sweet Renderings For a Pair of Upcoming Fishtown Projects

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Feb, 13, 2020 | No Comments | Fishtown

About a month ago, we told you to be on the lookout for a new project on the 1400 block of Oxford Street, just a block off Frankford Avenue. The project, which called for a new apartment building with 42 units, 34 parking spots, and a rooftop pool, will be located at 1408-18 Oxford St., a parcel which has been used for industrial purposes for longer than you've been alive. In recent decades, the building [...]
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Feb 11

Demo Notices at 19th & Bainbridge, Condos Coming Next

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Feb, 11, 2020 | No Comments | Graduate Hospital

For decades, a religious non-profit has occupied a double-wide and unassuming building at the southeast corner of 19th & Bainbridge. The foreign missions arm of the National Baptist Convention, the Foreign Mission Board (FMB), operates numerous mission stations in Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America. Though the group's mission is primarily missionary in nature, it also offers educational services, health services, various supplies, and building repair and maintenance services in some incredibly poor communities. From what we can tell, [...]
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