We were in the neighborhood the other day and noticed some work going on at 603 Catharine St. From the looks of it, the house is being completely gutted. Being curious and a little forward, we stopped to ask the crew what they were up to. Turns out they had positively no information for us, as they were merely the clean-out crew.

No story here

Before we could continue on our way, the building next door stopped us dead in our tracks.

What the?!?

That’s right, it’s a one-story corner property, sitting on an 1100+ sqft. lot, with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, and LOTS of vinyl siding. This building seems far more appropriate for the countryside than it does for Bella Vista or Queen Village. Last listed for sale in 2004, it languished on the market for nearly a year without any buyers at a price of $260K. At that price, we are not shocked. But considering that condos on this block have sold in recent years in the $700-800K range, it seems that this prime corner is being seriously underused.

The rear of the property, but a different address

We couldn’t tell you if it’s legal or not, but there’s a garage immediately to the rear of the property. This 15’x20′ lot has the same owner and was also on the market in 2004, but for $90K. Also didn’t sell.

We can appreciate that different looking buildings add character to a neighborhood, and we’re all about different strokes for different folks. But this just ain’t right. Can someone out there please step in and replace this unfortunate structure? Or can we at the very least lose the siding?