Earlier this week, we told you about a new Francisville foundation, just a few doors north of the intersection of 16th & Poplar. Like those in the quadplexes next door, the apartments in the duplex that will soon rise there will be condoed out. Just a block to the south are several additional apartment buildings that have either just gone up or are still under construction. The 1600 block of Ogden Street has seen several duplexes go up in the last year, though there's still a lot of vacant lots on the block. On the southeast corner of 16th & Ogden, the Vineyards at 16 is a mixed-use project that's slowly coming together.
Now joining the fray are four more duplexes which we learned about today thanks to an eagle-eyed reader who spotted some new foundations recently on the 1500 block of Ogden Street. These duplexes will replace long-vacant lots and are designed by Harman Deutsch.
Interestingly, public record suggests that a developer owns three of the foundations, but not the fourth. We're confident that all are part of the same project, and it seems possible that the final lot changed hands at some point but the City hasn't recorded the new deed yet. Also interesting is the gap between the eastern three foundations and the final one that's in the foreground above. Why the gap, you may ask? Well, it's because the lot in the middle of these soon-to-be-rising duplexes is owned by the City of Philadelphia! And as is always the case in these situations, efficiency abounds! We can only hope the City sells off this lot soon- whether it's to the guys building next door or somebody else, it doesn't really matter to us one way or another.