On and around the eastern side of South Street, turnover is often the name of the game. Sure, there are your stalwarts like Lorenzo's, Condom Kingdom, Tattooed Mom, and others, but there's also a good number of businesses opening and closing at any time. Some spaces, though, sit vacant for years. A couple years back, we covered a depressing stretch of shops on the 600 block that were together vacant for quite awhile. Fortunately, all but one of those spaces are now filled. 610-12 S. 4th St., half a block below South Street, have likewise been vacant for a long time. And they've looked kind of crappy, too.
A couple of days ago, we were on our way to Fabric Row and passed these buildings and noticed they're currently under construction. Check it out.
The two properties, according to old listings, had somehow fallen into shell condition despite their ostensibly solid location. Though they needed significant renovation, the buildings sold about a year ago for over $700K combined. Now, the new owners are attempting to make their investment work for them, creating four apartments in each building and reworking the commercial spaces to make them more attractive for potential tenants. Notice, this also includes building additions onto the rear of the existing structures, which should make for more spacious apartments.
Clearly, two freshly renovated commercial spaces (or one renovated big space) will be a welcome addition to the corridor and a nice draw for a new tenant or two. We just hope that the renovation efforts will include reworking the sad bay on the northern building. C'mon, it probably needs some recladding, right? We're not asking to replicate the elaborate and attractive bay next door, but some improvement here would definitely go a long way.