Back in March, we wondered what the renovation of the former check cashing place at 22nd & Saint Albans would ultimately look like when complete. At the time, we worried that the rear and third-floor addition would receive some sort of sheathing that would clash with the original brick which was preserved. It seems our worries were founded.

Back in March

Current view

Closer look

From the north

Sure, it’s better than stucco. But not by much. Then again, it’s sure nice to see this building come back into active use. Then again, we sure wish the owners preserved the commercial use.

Any ideas for a better material the owners could have used here?

Before the calendar turned to 2012, we first brought you news of Fitz4, an architecturally creative four-home project planned for some long-vacant lots on the corner of Chadwick & Fitzwater. Developed by Metro Impact, this development was to be the cherry on the frappe for a block that has experienced a dramatic transformation in the last five years with the construction of over a dozen new homes.

So much vacant land back in 2007

It was six months before the developer presented the project to SOSNA, which gave its support despite concerns from a few neighbors about the height of the homes and the presence of garages. These concerns were possibly overcome by excitement from many over the look of these homes, designed by Shimi Zaken of Atrium LLC. In a neighborhood that…

Just about everyone agrees that South Street West has undergone an impressive transformation over the last several years. Numerous buildings have been renovated. Vacant land has been filled in with new construction. Dozens of new businesses have popped up, bringing a new vitality to this strip that separates the Rittenhouse neighborhood from the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. But with all this development, one notable eyesore has remained more or less unchanged- the Royal Theater.

The Royal

For those unfamiliar, here’s a very brief history: built around 1919, the building was designed by Frank E. Hahn and targeted an African American audience, featuring movies with black stars and performances by prominent black entertainers. It closed its doors in 1970, and was purchased by Michael Singer Real Estate in 1973, who proceeded to neglect it for twenty-five years. The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia bought the building in 1998,…

A few days ago, we told you about a lovely garden on the 1700 block of Kater Street that almost forgives the monstrously ugly parking garage that sits in front of it. In response to that post, a reader shot us an email with some info about possible improvements on the horizon for said garage. Well, at least at for the corner of 17th & South.

Garden and garage

View on South Street

It’s easy to miss, but the southwest corner of 17th & South contains a pretty sizable retail space which has been vacant for several years. We’re pretty sure it once held offices for Graduate Hospital, and we always thought it would be a dynamite spot for a bar. Instead, it seems that Puentes de Salud has its eye on this…

As is the case in every city, parking is a concern in Philadelphia. With that in mind, we accept parking lots as a necessary evil, giving residents and visitors alike a place to put their vehicles while they’re not behind the wheel. The lowest form of parking lot, in our estimation, is the surface lot, which takes only a limited number of cars off the road and only offers passersby a view of an ocean of cars at street level. Parking garages are certainly more efficient, though they are quite often architectural horrors, making little to no effort to fit in with their surroundings.

Ugh

Such is the case for the parking garage located at 1700 South Street, which is used primarily by employees and patients of Penn Medicine Rittenhouse, a facility that occupies several former Graduate Hospital buildings.…

Over the winter, we noticed two huge holes in the ground on the 1400 block of Bainbridge St., and explained that they would eventually turn into two 61′ tall homes, each with nine parking spaces, a garage rooftop swimming pool, half-court basketball, and a couple of bowling alley lanes in the basement.

In December

We passed by this site the other day and discovered that framing was underway. As you may or may not be aware, such large buildings can’t be framed out of wood like most of the residential projects we see, but instead require the strength of steel. Check it out.

Steel is rising

Steel yourselves folks, these homes are gonna be mammoth.