Lately we've been abuzz with talk about redevelopment opportunities in Kensington around 6th & Thompson. Potential is certainly good to talk about, but what we really like to see is construction actually taking place. Such is the case with the renovations of a couple of bruised and vacant properties just north of 5th & Girard.

In the past

For years, the strip of buildings at 1210-14 N. 5th St. has sat apparently vacant and surrounded by empty lots. They had a ghost town kind of charm to them, in a way. Thing is, this ain't a ghost town. Disinvestment had become the main tenant, and all of the properties featured first floor space that seemingly once contained stores. When we passed by recently though, renovations had been made to the two southern properties, with new windows installed and tidied brickwork. According to public record, 1208-12 N. 5th St. sold last April for $365K to 1208-12 N 5th St. LLC.

Recent shot

While it’s clear that these buildings have a mixed-use history, the developers have acquired permits to convert them into single-family homes. They also will be building an additional home on the vacant lot immediately to the south. As for the northernmost building, it’s been owned by the same guy for over a decade- we don’t know when or if he’ll be fixing it up.

So that means three new homes are coming to this block. Oh, and another developer bought three vacant lots on this block in 2012, giving us a sense that even more homes could be on the horizon. In South Kensington, two major projects in the works will add another 500 new units to the area via Liberty Square, and SoKo Lofts. So with these major projects in mind, we point to a recent post about blight and construction near 7th & Thompson.

With so much more development coming to this area, look for projects like those mentioned above to continue to crop up. Vacant lots will keep filling in and blighted buildings will keep getting fixed up. Until, that is, there’s nothing left and the developers move on to the next neighborhood.