2nd Street, between Spring Garden and Girard, transforms from a standard city street into an extra-wide, Nascar track for most of its length in Northern Liberties. Only one block in the neighborhood, between Spring Garden and Fairmount, retains its original width. Not surprisingly, there’s quite a bit of retail on this block, including the delicious Koo Zee Doo, the earthy Soy Cafe, and the incomparable Very Bad Horse. And it seems that there will soon be another addition to this stretch.

612 N 2nd St

A currently vacant lot is set to become a new four-story building, with a commercial space on the first floor, and one apartment unit on each floor above. These apartments should be fairly sizable, as the lot occupies a healthy 2,000 sqft. In addition to the building, there will be two parking…

A couple of months ago, we broke the news that vacant eyesore 1612-16 South Street was under agreement, and that the buyer intended to build something that included both residential and commercial units. Last night, representatives for the developer (including a representative from OCF Realty) presented an information session for this project at the SOSNA zoning meeting.

Current view

We now know that the developer intends to construct a single, four story building on this site with a 2,500 sqft commercial space on the first floor. The developer is seeking a marquee restaurant tenant for the space. One ADA apartment will be on the first floor, along with five on the second floor, and four on the third and fourth floors. That’s a total of fourteen rental apartments, altogether. The building, designed by Harman Deutsch, has…

When you live in a Philly row home, the sun could be hanging like a medallion outside, and the streets alight like a storybook photograph and you can enter your home and sit by the front window and almost be convinced it’s raining outside. Darn neighbors blocking your light! We jest.

QV homes

Some homeowners envision ingenious schemes for opening up their homes to the brilliance of natural light, like at this early nineteenth century Queen Village home, where the owners knocked down the back wall and replaced it with panels of windows that provide a view of the garden.

And while Philly has its row homes like the EL has its cars, it’s also got its architectural gems. At the Queen Village Neighborhood Association’s 34th Annual Queen Village Open House Tour this Saturday, one can visit renovated eighteenth and nineteenth…

Back in November, we gave you the heads up about First Steel, a new Postgreen project at 1703-05 N. Howard St., in Kensington. At the time, this was still an empty lot, and the project was still in the planning stages. We were in the area a few days back, snapping photos of the former Quaker City Dye Works, and noticed something shiny and new on the corner of N Howard & Cecil B.

Yes indeed

Closer look

To remind you, both homes have 4 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms, and the typical Postgreen energy efficiency. 1703 N Howard St. is a little larger, at about 1700 sqft, and is under contract with an asking price of $325K. 1705 N Howard St., slightly smaller at about 1400 sqft, is still available at…

A large, vacant commercial space at 1222 Walnut St. was, for years, home to Stapler Dress N Drape. A large space in Center City, with a friendly staff, its existence allowed folks hunting for fabric to avoid the shlep down to Fabric Row. After it closed in 2006, the building was sold shortly after. It’s been empty ever since, but that could soon change.

Large space available

If you’ve ever been in the area, you’re well aware that there is no shortage of food or beverage options in this neighborhood. The company listing the space for rent, Fameco, has put together a handy retail map of the surrounding commercial activity.

Lots of logos

Interestingly, the owners of the property went to zoning today to get a variance for a sit-down and take-out restaurant with…

We were passing through the neighborhood today, dodging cement mixers and pickup trucks, and spotted two new homes going up at 1712 and 1714 Manton St., in Point Breeze. These two homes will make it six new construction homes in a row on this block (not counting the still-vacant lot at 1716 Manton St.). And that’s not counting the new construction, affordable housing units around the corner.

Framed out

Developer Emerald Properties acquired these two lots back in 2010 for $63K, and it’s looking like these two new homes will be finished in the next couple of months.

Considering how quickly new construction homes are selling in Point Breeze at the moment, it comes as no surprise that there seems to be no end to the construction in this area. We’ll be interested to see, in this case, how the proximity to…