A reader gave us the heads up recently that 1924 Arch St. is being demolished. Passing by yesterday, we can indeed verify that this is the case. Until a few weeks ago, there was a stately brownstone here. Now, the building is suffering a slow and painful death.

In the past

Facade being chipped away

According to Hidden City, the Francis McIlvain House was built in 1869, and designated historic in 1979. PMC Property Group is responsible for the demolition, and are likewise responsible for the new building going up next door. Are they demolishing this building to give their new structure additional room to breathe? Or to create a wider drive-aisle into a parking garage? Or is there perhaps some other plan for the lot upon which this building (still barely) sits?

You can see 1900 Arch St. has progressed

We're typically pretty rah-rah when it comes to development, and it's hard to know exactly what to opine in this case, given the lack of understanding of what's coming next here. But we're thinking it's definitely a shame to see this building disappear, and probably a missed opportunity for preservation. Alas, in a few more weeks, this building will be no more, joining the historic buildings that were similarly demolished on the corner half a decade ago.

Has anyone out there heard about PMC's plan for this parcel? We'd love to have more details to properly put the demolition into some context.