Passing by 413 Fairmount Ave. the other day, we noticed some construction activity at the old Arturo J. Wilson Funeral Home, which closed down in 2011. A dumpster sat out front, and all the windows were gone. We figured we’d get to the bottom of things to see whether a new funeral home was coming to the neighborhood, or whether something new was on the horizon.

Under construction

About a year ago, Hoolei LLC purchased the building for $320K. Back in June, Keira Winters went before NLNA with plans to transform the old funeral home space into a yoga studio and to renovate the upstairs space into two apartment units with rear decks. With NLNA’s blessing (and with a couple of provisos), the City granted the permits, and now you can see the wheels are in motion for a new addition to the neighborhood.

Considering the number of young, fitness conscious residents living in Northern Liberties, there are surprisingly few independent studios in the neighborhood. That being said, one of the few, Sankhya Yoga, is right around the corner. That being said, different people like different teachers and various yoga styles, so it seems probable that the new place will find its niche.

Meanwhile, the drum of change beats on in Northern Liberties. From what we can tell, the Wilson Funeral home had been on this block for nearly fifty years before shutting down. Trans-Atlantic Co., the company that owns the huge warehouse across the street, has been there even longer.

Across the street

Think they might be willing to move on as well, and allow their building to be redeveloped into apartments? Ah, maybe someday.