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We usually don't spotlight random homes for sale, and when we do they're usually being sold by the good people who own this website. But the other day we spied an auction sign at 758 S. 10th St. which inspired us to spend a few minutes researching the property. The place is really unique, and the fact that it's going to auction means you will be able to walk through it if you so desire. View […]

We've always wanted to live next door to a park. And who wouldn't? We'd appreciate the natural light, the fresh air, and the sounds of children playing and dogs barking. And we're not even picky! We don't need a big park like Rittenhouse Square or Dickinson Square Park, we'd be thrilled with a smaller community park like Julian Abele or Cianfrani Park at 8th & Fitzwater. Cianfrani Park If you're like us and would appreciate […]

Bella Vista has been a great place to live for decades, and vacant land tends to be scarce. So it's a bit surprising to come upon two long-vacant parcels right next to one another that are independently catching the development bug. First let's consider the more obvious property: New framing at Passyunk & Queen 810 E. Passyunk Ave. has been used over the years as a tiny unofficial parking lot. This triangular parcel was able […]

In every neighborhood, some buildings exist as leftovers, hold outs from another era. Sometimes these properties, with the proper attention, become neighborhood assets. Examples in Bella Vista include the apartments at the former De Pazzi School at 7th & Christian and the Bank of Italy building at 7th & Fitzwater, now a dry cleaners. Other buildings serve no greater purpose and seem like they're merely waiting to get redeveloped. This brings us to a small […]

Have you been to 7th & Kimball lately? Remember, a couple of years ago, we visited this corner and wondered about a facade-less building that had apparently sat vacant for years. In fact, we discovered that the adjacent three properties, owned by the same family since the 1930s, had likewise been vacant for quite some time. A commenter that lives nearby apprently tried purchase the properties or partner in a rehab project to no avail. […]

Remember Triangle Park? A few years ago, some neighbors created a green space on a triangular vacant lot at the intersection of E. Passyunk Avenue and Christian and S. 6th Streets, a site that was once a gas station.  Just a couple of years ago In 2011, the Redevelopment Authority was going to buy the land to create a permanent park, but then decided against it because of possible soil contamination. In 2012, the owners fenced in the lot […]

We last visited the Nebinger School at 6th & Carpenter two summers back, when construction was taking place to dramatically improve the school's stormwater management. That project included a rain garden and the addition of an underground water basin, and was completed for the 2013-14 school year. Currently, those improvements are mostly covered in snow, as will happen this time of year. Nebinger School View of the school from 6th Street Of course, a schoolyard […]

Around the residential neighborhoods, we generally see buildings that are either two or three stories tall. Then we'll also see some four-story buildings, homes that generally arrived on the scene either a hundred years ago or in the last twenty years. One story buildings, we confess, we don't see so often. We can only think of a handful around town, notably the Twilight Lounge at 20th & Bainbridge and Big Eyes Sushi at 7th & […]

Some days we're just amazed at how long we've been doing this. Today is such a day. Waaaaay back in November of 2011, we first told you about plans for four homes at 808 Carpenter St., a green project called The Olive Townhomes. This was exciting at the time, as we were pleased to see this curiously vacant lot near the Italian Market get redeveloped. But it's a good thing we weren't too excited, because […]

Over the summer, we shared the news that Lily Development was planning seven new homes over the 700 blocks of Bainbridge and Kater Streets. Some kind of residential development on these parcels makes perfect sense. 739-41 Bainbridge St. was an unattractive garage for many years that's now been demolished. 734-38 Bainbridge St. had been home to Klinghoffer Carpet for quite awhile, but we'd posit that homes are more appropriate for this location than a big […]