Back in April, we told you about the likely demolition of the old Fante-Leone pool on the 800 block of Montrose Street. The pool, which has an interesting history, had been unused for years, and had plants and trees of various species growing out of it. The wonderful facade, however, remained largely intact.

The facade

A peek inside

Over the years the property was on the market, we’d hoped that a developer would step in, purchase the property, and reuse the facade for whatever redevelopment activity would take place. Regrettably, developer Benjamin Marks, who apparently purchased the property for under $150K (!), has torn down the old facade and a new building has appeared on this site.

Same view as above

Looking up Darien St., bet the neighbors can't wait til it's all over

This development makes all kinds of sense. Easy access to the Italian Market, with enough produce, taquerias and cheese shops to shake a stick at. Plus, there are a dozen new construction houses on this block alone. The neighborhood is growing, so a three-unit building with three parking spaces seems to be totally appropriate (though maybe a little tall?). It just bums us out to see such a unique facade come down, taking one more unique architectural element away from this neighborhood.

New homes just to the east

On the plus side, we’d guess that the numerous businesses in the area will be happy to have the new customers…