We've had a bit of a fixation with the property at 1804 E. Passyunk Ave., first writing about it five years ago, encouraging anybody and everybody to lease the large property in the heart of the Passyunk Avenue commercial corridor. The building had been home to a pharmacy for years, first housing a Rite Aid and then the Passyunk Pharmacy, and then it sat empty for half a decade. We were incredibly cheered a little over a year ago, when an escape room business called Escape the 1980s took over the space, not only because it brought us back to the halcyon days of our childhood, but also because it meant a new type of business joining the fray on Passyunk. And apparently Philadelphia has enough children of the 80s / fans of big hair and retro video games, as the business has successfully made it past its first anniversary.
If you look at the image above, though, you'll notice there's a zoning notice on the front of the building. This has been a cause for concern for several readers who have reached out to us recently, wondering whether the zoning notice is an indication that a new business is coming soon at this location. We took a look at the zoning notice, and we're pleased to tell you that there's absolutely nothing to worry about. The zoning notice is merely an indication that the building will be getting some renovation work done, with the addition of three residential units on the 2nd and 3rd floors. As we don't see a 3rd floor currently, this will likely mean an addition to the building. As the zoning notice suggests, this work is triggering some sort of zoning refusal, and the project will be appearing at an East Passyunk Crossing community meeting later this week. As we don't know the refusals, we couldn't tell you how the project will be recieved by the community.
Meanwhile, if you look to the south, you can see that the King of Jeans project has been fully framed out. A reminder, this building will eventually contain retail space on the first floor, office space on the second floor, and 12 apartments on the upper floors. When we last checked in on this project a few months ago, the first two floors had been framed out in steel. Considering all the stops and starts with this project, it's certainly encouraging to see that it's finally moving forward. And when folks eventually move in, they'll just have to walk up the block to enjoy one of the most unique escape room concepts in town.