Way back in the fall of 2011, we told you about a six-unit project going up near the corner of 17th & Cambridge in Francisville. At the time, we commented that the project seemed to be moving rather slowly, having received zoning approvals back in the middle of 2010. Well, another year and a half seems to have only made a small difference as there has definitely been some progress at this site but the building appears to still be far away from completion.

November 2011

Current view

We found ourselves on this corner because a reader told us about a zoning notice next door to this still-unfinished building. By the time we got here the notice was gone, but the L&I Map was able to fill us in on what may…

Earlier this winter we wrote about the possible development of a Francisville lot in the middle of Winding Roses Park, an underutilized neighborhood park located at Uber and Brown, a block away from the Francisville Rec Center. This space had been a quasi-public green space for years, with City agencies owning four of the five lots that make up the park.

Back in January

Regrettably, 1911 Brown St., a lot in the middle of the park, is privately owned by a developer named William Guzman. Over the winter, Guzman moved to build a single-family home on his lot. Our previous story about the lot quoted a Daily News article that said that Guzman was willing to swap his lot for another in the area, but miscommunication and perhaps insufficient effort on the parts of several parties meant that this…

We were zipping around Francisville, snapping photos of all the development in the neighborhood, and were surprised to see a newly framed home at 1743 Cambridge St.

From a distance

Closer look

Doing a little research, we discovered that Concord Business Management LLC is building a duplex here, with a parking space in the rear. It’s unclear whether these units will be condos or rentals, but there’s no question that this building is an important addition to this block. The reason it’s so important? There’s basically nothing else here.

Looking east from the new home

Four homes can be found on the eastern end of this block, and then there are twelve (!) vacant lots in a row before you get to this new construction. We always figured that this block was…

It’s true that Francisville has seen a tremendous amount of new construction in recent years. Many blighted properties have been replaced by new homes, and plenty of vacant lots have been filled in. Despite all of this, there is still plenty of blight and vacancy that remains in the neighborhood, especially on several blocks close to Ridge Avenue. Take, for example, the 1600 block of Ogden Street.

Last month, north side

Last month, south side

Over the past six weeks, however, this block has experienced some positive changes, with hopefully more to come. Citi Properties LLC owns three parcels on the north side of this block, and has broken ground on two duplexes so far. 1619 Ogden St. has already been framed out, and foundations have been poured at 1611 Ogden St. for another duplex. 1607 is…

We find ourselves on Fairmount Ave. several times a week as you can imagine, but have somehow not visited 15th & Fairmount for several months. As you may remember, Project H.O.M.E. is currently constructing a rather large development at this intersection. We passed by a few days ago, and were impressed with the progress at the site.

Mostly framed out

Looking north up 15th St.

Looking east on Fairmount

As we told you once before, the four story LEED certified building will have 55 apartment units, second floor office space for Project H.O.M.E., a ten-space parking lot, and about 12K sqft of retail space on the first floor, with most of the commercial on Ridge Avenue. And with prominent sponsorship from the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, we’re wondering if there’s gonna be a free concert to celebrate the building’s completion.

Stay tuned…

In Francisville, the development seems to keep on coming. From four quadplexes at 16th and Poplar, to the major 55-unit Project H.O.M.E. development at Fairmount & Ridge, to a 35-unit development around 19th and Poplar, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. And as we were checking out the progress of some of these larger developments, we spotted a row of fluorescent orange ZBA apps posted at a vacant lot at 19th & Brown.

The lot

The project seeks to create four new triplexes, each one with its own roof deck and pilot house. The lots are owned by the Loonstyns, the developers responsible for the 35 aforementioned units and various other local projects, like the one developed last year at Fairmount and Uber Streets, where Mughsots now occupies a ground-floor retail location. Loonstyn Development acquired the four properties for $440K last July, according to public…