Walking on the 2300 block of Naudain St., you'll quickly notice a curiously vacant lot and what looks like an aborted construction project or the remains of an old home. It's the latter- three homes stood here less than a year ago until a gas explosion took them out. Thankfully, a carbon monoxide detector provided a warning to the neighbors and there were no fatalities. And so today, the block still maintains a three-home-wide gash.
That gash should soon be reduced by 33%, as plans were recently approved for the reconstruction of 2208A Naudain St., a property which is part of the Naudain Court Condominiums and actually contained two units. Interestingly, the owners had to go before CCRA and the ZBA because the property is zoned for a single family home, not two units as was the case with the now-demolished building. Its replacement will maintain a similar look to its predecessor, but it will have a fourth story. Cool that the mirrored front door effect will be brought back with the new building.
It's wonderful news that the healing process is moving forward for this block with the imminent reappearance of one of the missing buildings. No word on plans for the other two that were lost last May, but we'd hope they'll soon be reconstructed as well. Along with the aforementioned gas explosion, this block also dealt with an electrical fire back in 2005, according to the Inquirer. Once all of the reconstruction is finished, this block will finally catch a break, let's hope.