Have you been to 7th & Kimball lately? Remember, a couple of years ago, we visited this corner and wondered about a facade-less building that had apparently sat vacant for years. In fact, we discovered that the adjacent three properties, owned by the same family since the 1930s, had likewise been vacant for quite some time. A commenter that lives nearby apprently tried purchase the properties or partner in a rehab project to no avail. Passing by a few months back, we noticed missing facade disease had spread to two more properties but we neglected to snap a photo. Instead, here's a look at the properties a few years back when they all had facades.
Something (a bunch of money maybe) convinced the owners to sell the four properties at 1007-13 S. 7th St. earlier this year. The new owners are four parties with different addresses in South Philly, but we'd have to imagine that they're working together to redevelop all of the properties. Passing by earlier today, we see an active construction site. All but one of the properties now have fronts!
According to permits, all of the buildings will end up as single-family homes, though it looks like the corner property is being primed for a retail use. This is surprising, as several of the buildings historically had a commercial use. All the buildings also have by-right zoning for apartments, so we would have maybe expected condos here. Alternately, demolishing all of the properties and replacing them with a single large building might have been an interesting direction. Ah, but maybe with unique ownership for every property that wasn't a possibility.
So perhaps the developers aren't going in the direction we would have chosen, but neighbors are surely pleased as punch that the properties are finally getting redeveloped. Nobody appreciates vacancy, and after several years we'd have to imagine people living nearby were sick and tired of it here.