Though they looked different, the two homes at 403 and 405 S. 26th St. had a fairly classic Fitler Square look to them. The northern home had a white stucco front with black window trim and and a matching and intact original cornice. The southern home had purple shutters and a pergola you could see from the street. Neither home was particularly special architecturally, yet they fit in perfectly with the rest of the neighborhood.

Of course, we’re using the past tense in describing these homes because they are now both gone, with a few wheelbarrows of bricks still remaining behind a chain link fence. Perhaps you’re wondering what happened, or at the very least you’re probably curious to know what’s next.

It’s not entirely obvious in looking from the street, but these aren’t the largest lots in town. Each lot measures 15′ by 44′, which can certainly accommodate a fine home- but most of the new construction in this area shoots for larger parcels to accommodate bigger, pricier homes. So it should come as no surprise that the owner of the property is consolidating the two parcels into one, and has plans to build a single new home here. Said home will naturally rise three stories, and will include a parking space, accessed from a drivable alleyway just to the south. Normally, we’d expect the home would be listed for sale- but it’s also possible that the developer is the same party that’s owned one of the homes for fifteen years and they’re simply looking for upgraded digs.

There are some other homes under construction nearby which are undoubtedly going to be offered for sale. You may recall, we brought the northeast corner of 26th & Pine to your attention three years back, noting that developers had purchased and bulldozed a few homes from the 1970s and had plans to build four contemporary homes in their place. It took awhile for the project to get moving, but now you can see that these homes are finally shaping up. They will be quite large and no doubt, quite expensive- and frankly, given their prime location, that’s entirely appropriate. It’s just a bummer that Jezebel’s moved away a couple years ago, since everyone knows that empanadas have a very strong impact on property values.