Any casual observer has surely noticed the trajectory of the Frankford Avenue commercial corridor in recent years. New buildings have appeared, almost overnight. Countless new businesses have opened, increasing amenities in the neighborhood. And there's more coming. But today we check in on two big projects on the 1500 block of Frankford Avenue which we first told you about last year. Even though they're still under construction, you can get a decent idea of what they'll look like when they're done. And if your imagination stinks, we have drawings that we can share.
1512-18 Frankford Ave. was previously a parking lot with metal gate frontage. Today you can see three new buildings have been framed out. The project comes from Carmel Developments, a group that's done a couple of other projects on Frankford Avenue in the past. Like the others, this one, which will include fourteen apartments and ground-floor retail, is designed by Harman Deutsch.
Just up the street, there's another project that's in a similar point in the construction project. Once upon a time (last year), 1536-40 Frankford Ave. was a vacant lot, but a new building has appeared in its place. Developer Roland Kassis, another Frankford Avenue vet, hired architects MAKE to design something contemporary for him and that they did. The project will have four apartments and a retail space when it's finished.
Has anyone in the area heard about any of the businesses that will be coming into these new retail spaces? We think we comfortably speak for everyone when we say "no more coffee shops." Anything else though, sounds good to us.