We don't often find ourselves on South 2nd Street outside of one day of the year, but a proposed project at 1728 S. 2nd St. drew our attention and we made our way over there last week. We couldn't tell you what this building was originally used for, but over many years it has been home to the Oregon Wench Brigade. And you can tell by the big number one posted to the side of the building that they won their division at this year's Mummers Parade.
The property was put up for sale last fall, and went under agreement at a sale price of $600K after about a month on the market. The new owners of the property intend to put an addition on the building and create a pair of retail spaces on the first floor and 12 apartments above. We're sure that the renovation will involve punching some new windows in the facade, and it will hopefully involve stripping off the stucco and restoring the original brick. We reached out to the Oregon NYE Association to ask whether they'll take over one of the retail spaces or move to a new location, but unfortunately couldn't get in touch with anyone.
Looking up and down 2nd Street, we see a mix of single-family homes, corner businesses, and Mummer halls, so a three-story building with apartments and ground-floor retail certainly makes sense in the context of this part of 2nd Street. We wonder, with new development happening to the north and west, and the area around Dickinson Square Park becoming increasingly attractive, will we see more development activity in this section of South Philadelphia? Now that we think about it, this wouldn't surprise us even a little bit.