A reader checked in the other day, giving us the heads up about an ongoing renovation at 815 S. 21st St., in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. As recently as just a few months ago, this property looked, well, a little ugly.

In the past

Another angle

Now, it’s true that vinyl siding and fiberglass awnings are the pinnacle of good taste, but we’re not sad to see a change at this corner, which had a bit of a permanent Christmas motif going on. Checking in recently,
we noticed that the vinyl had been removed from both the second floor and the cornice, and that the awnings had tragically disappeared as well. Additionally, the paint has been power washed off the facade.

Current view

Closer look

From the south

We looked at the permits, and this rehab is as extensive inside as it is outside. The major alteration includes a total gut job, and a brand new interior in its place. In addition, it appears that the owner of this property got approval for a parking space in the rear of the building. We don’t recall seeing any zoning application, and apparently the approvals for this went through the Board of Building Standards rather than the ZBA.

Either way, this corner is on its way to being dramatically improved. And just in time, too. The upcoming sandwich shop that we’ve checked in on a couple of times before appears to be getting closer; front windows were installed just the other day.