Earlier this week, a reader gave us the heads up about some demolition taking place on the little 700 block of Mole Street. This little block, which is adjacent to the Scottish Rite Apartments, has seen the construction of several new homes in recent years which have sold for prices that exceed $400K. Now, it seems, two older homes at 754 and 756 S. Mole St. are going to be replaced by some new and shiny homes.

In the past

Recent shot

The L&I Map, in this case, is a little confusing. A zoning permit has been pulled to demolish the homes and replace them with three-story homes. A building permit has been pulled, though, for interior demolition only. And that’s what has happened, at least so far. Public record is also kind of confusing for these properties, with multiple transactions having taken place since the summer. In July, both were purchased by James Allen for an impossible $10K. A month later, the properties were bought by Mole Street Properties LLC for $20K, though this may have simply been Mr. Allen moving ownership to an LLC. 756 was then purchased by V2 Properties for $200K in September. We’re guessing the same happened to the northern home, though this hasn’t shown up in public record. We just wonder, how in the world did James Allen buy these homes for only $10K? We must be missing something.

Homes immediately to the south

Hopefully, the new homes that will soon be constructed will have a touch more creativity than the houses down the block. At the very least, we’re hoping for bays without stucco. Let us together pray.