Two summers ago we told you that a Seattle man and wife that founded Rakumi Arts International, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting African arts and culture, had relocated to Philly, and planned to return a former corner retail spot at 26th & Poplar back from residential use into a coffee shop.The

Everyone loves the NFL (willfully ignoring the world outside of the US). Everyone loves Big Brothers Big Sisters. In Philadelphia, we can look at both through the lens of a historic building.Football is the most popular sport in America. One of the reasons this sport has grown in popularity and maintained

The other day, we told you about a new foundation on the 1700 block of Ridge Ave. which will eventually house three apartments and a restaurant of some kind. A block away, there's a very similar project that's under construction, just a little further along in the process.From a distance.

The resurgence of West Girard Avenue in Brewerytown has been well documented. New restaurants like Rybrew and Shifty's Taco give residents new dining options. An old church is in the process of being converted into apartments. A giant vacant lot could be redeveloped into a mixed-use project. And there's a

In the last decade, the face of Northern Liberties has changed dramatically. Vacant land has filled in, the 2nd Street commercial corridor has substantially turned over, and the combination of the Piazza and Liberties Walk have created a whole new community. With all the large-scale projects that have been built,

We were passing through Chinatown last week, and noticed a new building on 9th Street, just south of Cherry Street. We wondered about the project, so looked for the address on public record and came up empty. The property, which used to be a parking lot, is associated with 908

A couple of readers have asked us in recent weeks whether we know anything about the construction taking place in the middle of North Broad Street. While word of this sort of work might make you expect a major and persistent traffic snarl, the activity is actually pretty compact and

Ridge Avenue is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. Project HOME redeveloped a gigantic vacant lot near Broad Street into a mixed-use building, JBJ Soul Homes. On the 1300 block, a long-blighted building has finally been rehabbed. And a mixed-use project is planned (though not yet under construction) on

Near five years ago, this writer said to a friend 'we should buy this building,' at the corner of Norris & Sepviva, a block off Frankford Ave., 'and make some money.' But we didn't have any money. Someone else did. Two years ago, we told you that this building at 2200-04

On Green Street in the Spring Garden neighborhood, it's a common sight to see former mansions converted into apartment buildings. In recent years, a couple of former churches have also gone through this transformation. To this point, though, we don't believe it's happened to any former convents. But that's exactly