Passing by the other day, we noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign on a large building on the 1800 block of S. 11th St. about a block and a half from Passyunk Avenue. Though the building looks to have gotten some work done in recent years, it seemed like a potentially interesting development opportunity.

Victorian Room

The Victorian Room is an event space and also home to the South Philly Vikings fancy brigade. According to their website, they have a hall with space for 120 as well as a full bar. Looking at the listing for the property, we quickly realized that the sign on the building doesn’t apply to the banquet hall but instead applies to the two buildings to the north. 1811-13 S. 11th St. is currently listed for just under $450K and includes, according to the listing, a small commercial space, a second floor apartment, and a large amount of empty space that could ostensibly be converted into apartments. Though the space seems narrow at its entrance, it widens considerably as you move further back. Still, at such a high price, we’re not sure this is the opportunity we were hoping for.

Across the street

Across the street, however, is a building that seems to hold considerable promise. 1814-22 S. 11th St. isn’t on the market, but if it ever were it would offer quite a bit of potential. It sits on a 5,600 sqft lot. The building has almost 17K sqft of interior space. High ceilings on the first floor make it attractive for commercial tenants or create the possibility of really airy apartments. And given the close proximity to the Avenue, the location is quite desirable as well.

So there you go. Two interesting South Philly buildings across the street from each other. One is for sale, but isn’t such a great opportunity. The other isn’t for sale, but could be very interesting depending on the asking price in the theoretical future where the owner is interested in selling. Then again, isn’t everything for sale in this world, at the right price?