Over the past couple of years, we've told you about multiple projects from the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation. This organization has been able to buy up distressed properties on or around Passyunk Avenue, fix them up, and find both residential and commercial tenants. If every neighborhood had a group like PARC, we'd surely be the envy of every major city in the nation, and we'd practically be living in a city on a hill. Sadly, PARC is the exception rather than the rule.
Now, this exceptional organization has struck again. They've purchased one of the last eyesores on Passyunk Avenue and are planing to give it their standard treatment.
You may recall, Colombo's, located at 1934 E Passyunk Ave., caught fire at the end of the summer of 2012. Prior to the fire, Colombo's was set up as a restaurant with a liquor license and some permanent outdoor seating. But the place was barely operational, and its rough-looking exterior stood in dramatic contrast to some of the attractively renovated properties along the Avenue. A couple of years ago, we suggested that a well-conceived and properly marketed concept could thrive at this location. And with PARC's help, it seems likely that this is exactly what will happen.
According to Executive Director Sam Sherman, PARC only just closed on the property. He's expecting that they will be able to confirm a restaurant tenant in the coming months. With the expected improvement to this property combined with the East Passyunk Gateway coming at the intersection of Passyunk & McKean just a few steps away, the bottom of East Passyunk is poised for dramatic improvement in 2014. And we can't wait.