In West Philly

When Philadelphia implemented the new zoning code in 2012, many among us hoped that it would streamline a zoning process which had spiraled out of control thanks to the combination of an outdated code and inaccurate zoning maps. The "new" code isn't perfect by any means, but it's certainly proven itself as an

Whenever we cover a project on or near Baltimore Avenue, we always look at that project through the lens of how it relates to the commercial corridor. And this makes sense, because Baltimore Avenue and nearby 52nd Street are the centers of commerce in this part of West Philadelphia. But when we present Baltimore

It doesn't make any sense that the southeast corner of 36th & Sansom was sitting vacant since at least the 1960s. It's right on the edge of campus, with the Penn Law building located a block to the east and the Penn bookstore across the street. Had the property been

It's been more than fifteen years since we called West Philadelphia home, but for whatever reason we went to Lei's Auto & Collision Center at 4200 Ludlow St. a couple times in recent memory to get the Nakedphillymobile inspected. We were in the area the other day, not because we

Taken literally, the name Dirt Factory sounds like the place where Miracle-Gro makes their soil. And perhaps with a lower-case 'd' and a lower case 'f,' that would indeed be the case. Alternately, it could have been the name of a punk band in the 1970s, and it's quite possible it was, but

We've covered several Orens Brothers projects over the years, like their successful redevelopment of Croydon Hall at 49th & Locust. Shortly after they wrapped that project, we told you about another significant project from this developer on the 4400 blocks of Chestnut and Ludlow Streets. The plans called for roughly

The 76ers have played their home games at the Wells Fargo Center since 1996, having spent the previous twenty-nine seasons at the Spectrum. Well, that's not exactly accurate. In point of fact, the arena was known as the CoreStates Center when it first opened, then got the First Union Center moniker (loved this one), transitioned to

The footprint of the University of Pennsylvania has slowly but surely expanded over the decades, pushing out to a western boundary of 40th Street in the late 1960s and a bit more recently, to a hazy northern border at Chestnut Street. Though the formal campus of the university probably isn't

We've complained on numerous occasions in this space that college kids have it way better at present than we did back in the day. Most of our kvetching has come on the subject of student housing. Back when we were in school, dorm rooms didn't have air conditioning, and one year,

When Iron Stone Real Estate Partners introduced a plan in 2011 to redevelop the Apple Storage building at 780 S. 52nd St. into a significant residential development, we felt like the project was a bit ahead of its time. And wouldn't you know it, even through the project got zoning