It was just a couple of months ago that we last visited the 1200 block of N. Etting St., a Brewerytown block that's seriously seen some better days. This block might have seen more redevelopment by now, considering its close proximity to improving Girard Avenue corridor, but it's a little hidden, only accessible via the 2700 block of W. Stiles Street. Still, we were encouraged a couple of months ago to see that two new homes had sprung up on this little block, among a sea of vacant lots.

The 1200 block of N. Etting St.

Two new homes on the western side of the block, lacking front stairs

On the eastern side of the blocks, among the overgrown weeds, we spied a couple of zoning notices.

Zoning notices on the overgrown eastern side of the block

We told you before, the same developers that built the two homes at 1202 and 1204 N. Etting St. also own some additional homes on the block and now they're planning to build five more homes. They got their approval from the ZBA this week for homes at 1209, 1211, 1215, 1217, and 1227 N. Etting St., but it remains to be seen whether they'll break ground quickly or whether they'll wait until they've sold the first pair of homes before they move forward. We haven't seen the drawings for the five additional homes, but we'd imagine that they'll have a similar contemporary look to the others on the block.

East side of the street, looking north toward Stiles Street

But that's not all that should soon change on this block. Looking to the north, you can see what looks like a zoning notice on a building with a Stiles Street address. We told you back in October about plans to demolish this vacant building and replace it with a duplex, but that plan was denied at the ZBA. The developers are now appealing that result, so we could still see that property redeveloped.

West side of the block, looking toward Pennock Street

Also, we discovered that other developers have combined three Pennock Street lots into two and will soon build two new homes with parking. Assuming all of these projects are built, that will make a total of eleven new units on these blocks in a very short period of time. We have a feeling that these blocks will see development activity snowball, and within just a few years the large vacant lot situation of today will seem like a distant memory.