Italian for "beautiful sight", Bella Vista is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Annual festivals in the neighborhood include the Italian Market Festival and the Bella Vista Festival of the Arts. Cultural events in Bella Vista are centered around public concerts, coffeehouses, the Mew Gallery, and Fleischer Art Memorial. Only a short walk from Queen Village, Washington Square, Pennsport, and East Passyunk, Bella Vista a perfect destination for anyone who wants to be close to the hustle and bustle of Center City but wants a little more of a neighborhoody feel.
The story at 601 Christian St. has taken several turns since we last checked in on the property at the end of last year. In case you're walking into the movie halfway through, here's some background: Current view A gas station sat on this triangular parcel for many years, and about half a dozen years ago, after several years of vacancy, the owner of the property allowed a group of neighbors to clean up the […]
Has it ever been a tough road for the retail space at the southeast corner of 10th & Carpenter. Over the last decade, we've seen a crazy amount of turnover in this space, with half a dozen coffee shops coming and going over that time. Can you remember all of them? If not, this list should serve as a reminder of the difficulties of the coffee business and the challenges for this tiny space across […]
A neighbor reached out recently, wondering about 827 Carpenter St., a one-story garage that's just steps from the hustle and bustle of the Italian Market. This property has caught their attention of late, as a two-story addition has appeared atop the building. New addition at 827 Carpenter St. Perhaps the people who reached out live in one of the new Mildred Court homes We'd imagine this building has been used historically for storage- until recently […]
When the Bean Exchange closed their doors last summer at 7th & Bainbridge after a nearly decade-long run, we simply assumed that another cafe would not replace it. We expected an apartment conversion, perhaps. After all, there are just so many coffee shops in the area, like Shot Tower at 6th & Christian, Bean Cafe on the 600 block of South Street, Lombard Cafe at 6th & Lombard, and probably other places that we're just not […]
Bella Vista is getting some new mansions and now we know what they'll look like. Over the summer, we told you about plans for seven new homes at 711 Bainbridge St., pleased as punch that a surface parking lot would be meeting its maker as a result. From the summer, view on Bainbridge Street View on 7th Street US Construction, going for a more high-end project than we've seen previously, have retained the McCann Team […]
A reader reached out the other day, wondering about the construction they've noticed on 10th Street, just south of South Street. For many years, 605 S. 10th St. was a simple brick wall with a garage door. That property has historically been connected to the adjacent home at 603 S. 10th St., providing two car parking and a second entrance to the home. In the past This double-wide property went on the market a couple […]
The saga continues for a little triangular patch of land created by the intersection of Christian Street, 6th Street, and Passyunk Avenue. This property was historically home to a gas station but it's been on a roller coaster ride in recent years. About six years ago, the owner of the property allowed a group of neighbors to clean up the parcel, creating a little oasis called Triangle Park. The community was happy with the green […]
A reader just tipped us off about some new construction on 11th Street, just north of Christian, so we figured we'd check it out. These blocks are really well established, so it's pretty unusual to see much construction. But our readers are amazingly honest and this was no exception. Construction at 813 S. 11th Street Previously, there was a three story building here with some classy fiberglass awnings. Unfortunately, in all the old images from […]
We wrote about the vacant building at 941 S. 8th St. back in the summer of 2011 after wondering about the property for many years prior. The building was fascinating to us because 1) it was a vacant and blighted building in an otherwise thriving neighborhood, 2) it had wonderful bones, and 3) the remains of a long-closed corner store were visible through the first-floor windows. Not only was the store closed, but the windows […]
When US Construction built nineteen new homes on the 800 block of Christian Street a few years back, we took the opportunity to point out 820 Christian St. to everyone, wondering whether the project next door would spur the owners of the vacant property to do something with it. For whatever reason, when there was a big parking lot next door, the vacancy didn't bother us as much. Ever since the homes were built though, […]