Yesterday, thanks to a reader tip, we found ourselves on a Brewerytown block we'd never visited before. Hollywood Street runs between 29th and Myrtlewood Streets, and the 1200 block can be accessed either from Stiles Street or Thompson Street. Almost every home on the block is of the two story variety, with many of the homes featuring attractive architectural details. As is the case on many blocks in Brewerytown, this narrow block has had a mix of occupied and vacant homes in recent years.
The reader that tipped us off gave us the heads up about some recent changes to the block.
On the east side of the street, 1235 and 1237 N. Hollywood St. were recently rehabbed, we believe by two different developers. The former sold at the end of last year, and the latter is under agreement at a list price of $197K. Notice the cathedral-shaped windows on the second floor of both homes. Immediately to the south, the sale of 1233 N. Hollywood St. hasn't yet hit public record, but permits have been pulled for a renovation indicating to us that new owners are in place. To the north, the vacant 1237 N. Hollywood St. is owned by PHA and could continue to sit empty for years.
Across the street, 1250 N. Hollywood St. certainly doesn't fit in with the rest of the block. This home went up within the last year, replacing a vacant lot. The vacant lot was created, we believe, when the City demolished a vacant home here a couple years ago. You'll notice, there's another vacant home just to the north, on the other side of a vacant lot.
Back to the east side of the block, we thought we saw a zoning notice at 1249 N. Hollywood St., another vacant property. But we were wrong, it's actually a notice from the City indicating that the building is unsafe. Fortunately, developers bought the building a little over a year ago and have pulled permits to make the building safe. We'd guess that renovation permits should follow.
As the West Girard commercial corridor improves and new development continues on larger streets, we expect to see more and more renovation and new construction on smaller blocks in Brewerytown. Some of these blocks have made it through the last few decades like the 1200 block of N. Hollywood Street, with some vacancies but mostly intact. Others haven't held up nearly as well, like the 2700 block of W. Stiles Street. Whatever their current condition, look for big changes on all of these blocks in the coming years.