Okay, back to Philly real estate.
We last visited the somewhat rough 2700 block of W. Stiles Street a few months ago, when we told you about a proposal to demolish a seemingly vacant building on this block and replace it with a duplex. For whatever reason, when the project went to the ZBA in October, it got denied. The block is pretty much unchanged since then, though there's now a truck sitting on the south side of the street surrounded by garbage.
Though nothing has changed on Stiles Street, there have been two new additions on the 1200 block of N. Etting Street, accessible from Stiles Street. At 1202 and 1204 N. Etting St., two new homes have appeared in recent months, replacing vacant lots. Metropolitan Property Holdings bought these parcels about two years ago, paying $50K per lot. Now they've built homes which are listed for $375K a pop. The homes are pretty standard new construction fare, with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, finished basements, and roof decks. Architecturally, the developers have taken a decidedly contemporary approach.
The same developers own five additional properties on this block, which gives us the indication that they'll be building some more homes here once these are finished and sold. It should be noted, City agencies own five vacant lots on the block, so its complete redevelopment is probably still at some undetermined point in the future. In the meantime though, it will be positive to see some incremental improvement on Etting Street, and with any luck on Stiles Street too. We'll be curious to see whether the developers who were previously denied nearby will alter their plans and try again.