When PHA built a bunch of one-story homes in the southern part of Francisville in the early 1980s, they surely would not have guessed that developers would be buying up those homes and building condo buildings in their place just a few decades later. But that's exactly what's been happening on 19th Street, 20th Street, Capitol Street, and now on the 1900 block of Brown Street. We recently got a tip that a big new building had been framed out at 1926 Brown St., so we figured we'd check it out.
As we've told you previously when we've covered similar projects, all of these properties are zoned for multi-family use, and the fact that the homes sit on such large lots mean that they can typically accommodate three or four units by right. And frankly, in our opinion, a little density in this area is actually a pretty good idea. To the south is Fairmount Avenue, seemingly getting a new business every other month. To the north is Ridge Avenue, a commercial corridor that's looking to reestablish itself after so many years in the woods. And the more people that live nearby and can be potential customers, the better.
It seems like a pretty safe bet that we'll see even more projects of this ilk pop up on this block and others nearby. Today, the tall new buildings stick out among the smaller older homes. Five or ten years from now, we wouldn't be shocked if the opposite is true.