If you can believe it, Grays Ferry Avenue was once a pretty junky corridor in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. The streetscape was dominated by vacancy, with the former Naval Asylum property prominently and aggressively blighting the blocks between Bainbridge and Christian. Eventually, Toll Bros. started working on transforming that property

We've been fairly consistent over the years, complaining about surface parking lots as an undesirable land use in our dense urban environment. Whether a surface lot is tiny or huge, it's almost never the highest or best use for a property. One notable exception might be the sea of surface parking

It was roughly two and a half years ago that we pointed a finger at the warehouse on the northwest corner of 17th & Annin, noting that it was not long for this world. We explained that the ZBA gave their blessing to a plan to demolish the building and

The origin of Paul's Draperies tracks all the way back to a pushcart in 1950. During that era, the demand for fabric was such that pushcarts in the street provided options beyond the offerings of the brick and mortar establishments. Within a few years, the Paul family established a storefront at

As homes have continued to appreciate in Northern Liberties, the industrial buildings that once dominated the neighborhood have grown increasingly out of place. There was a lumber yard for over a century at 3rd & Girard, but that's been demoed in favor of an upcoming apartment building. A former wire works

When Philadelphia implemented the new zoning code in 2012, many among us hoped that it would streamline a zoning process which had spiraled out of control thanks to the combination of an outdated code and inaccurate zoning maps. The "new" code isn't perfect by any means, but it's certainly proven itself as an

We were jonesing for a za'atar and cheese man'oushe from Suraya, so we made our way to Frankford Avenue earlier today with a sense of excitement for a tasty meal to come. Along with quality food, Suraya also has traditionally provided an added benefit for customers, a little parking area at 1511

We were looking through the docket for the ZBA yesterday, as we're wont to do, and noticed five different projects seeking variances within a very small area of West Poplar. This seemed odd on its face, so we started investigating. All of the properties are owned by City agencies, a good

Way back in the summer of 2012, we told you about plans for twenty-two homes on the 1300 blocks of Bainbridge and Kater Streets, on a parcel that had been used as a surface parking lot for quite some time. The project caught us off guard at the time, as we openly

A Northern Liberties neighbor reached out to us a few months back, having noticed some geotechnical work taking place on a parking lot on the east side of the 600 block of N. Front Street. We previously brought this property to your attention back in 2014, noting that it was listed for sale