In Logan Square, there are relatively few development opportunities to be found. Having been so well-established for decades, the neighborhood has few vacant properties and even less vacant land. So it should come as no surprise that a couple of developers looking to construct multi-unit developments find themselves having to demolish a couple of older buildings in order to accomplish the task at hand.

First, we look at the northwest corner of 21st & Race, where a former School District building is nearly gone. This structure had been a part of the Please Touch Museum, which moved to Memorial Hall a few years ago, but has sat vacant since the move. Last September, we told you about plans from Matzi Builder and Developers to build eight new ultra-high-end homes here, with list prices exceeding $1M. We don’t know what the homes will look like,…

We last checked in on the Mode7 development at 134 N 22nd St. over a year ago, noting that a second pair of homes had been framed and sheathed, and were undergoing interior construction. At that time, we suggested that a second phase of construction was yet to come, directly behind the homes on 22nd Street, which would include three additional homes fronting Croskey Street.

Well guess what we discovered when we were in the area the other day?

In the past

Some big and pricey new homes

Frontal view

These homes obviously have months of additional construction to come, but when they’re finished, they’ll look something like this:

Homes on 22nd St.

Wonder if they’ll have an open house…

While ground-breaking may be a year away, plans for Edgewater II, a 20-plus-story 300-foot tower at 23rd & Summer are moving along. Some changes have been made to the plan since Realen first presented to Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) last year, and these must now be officially incorporated into a Neighborhood Development Agreement (NDA).

The site, now a parking lot

The most important part of that NDA states that no construction vehicles can enter the site from 23rd Street, according to Ed Panek, LSNA zoning chair. That means vehicles will have to travel under I676, passing around the Park Towne Place Apartments to enter. No construction will occur west of 23rd Street. Otherwise, construction vehicles and equipment would impede 23rd Street residents from utilizing their street, Panek said.

Construction vehicles will

…

At 21st & Market, it’s like an architectural plastic surgeon showed up and performed an operation on 2040 Market St., the former AAA Mid-Atlantic Headquarters building. What was a standard don’t look twice five-story building is nearing completion of being transformed into a 13-story 281-unit mixed-use building with a glass-faced façade that looks as modern chic as Ray Bans, if buildings were like sunglasses.

In the past

Big changes

The building, still under construction, is now for sale, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. According to PBJ, the building is expected to sell for a record price that could reach $140M, which breaks down to about $500K per unit. The site was purchased by PMC Property Group in early 2011. By last summer, the exterior had been subjected to the surgeon, if you will, and transformed into its current outfit. The PBJ cites this news as an…

Last summer, we mentioned rumors that the extremely popular and often overcrowded Trader Joe’s at 22nd & Market would be undergoing renovations and an expansion. And when we stopped by to pick up some essentials the other day, we discovered that the much-anticipated renovations have been completed. A new front flower display was unveiled five days ago, and just yesterday TJ’s revealed the first big changes to the store since it opened in 2003.

New entryway

Flowers and prepared foods on the right

All seems the same from the usually-jammed parking lot, but as you enter into what used to be an enclosed foyer of mixed bouquets and cinnamon brooms you now face doors for cart traffic in and out, and an open expanse of the bright store. The flower market leads you in and to the right, which is…

About a month ago, roughly 1,300 GlaxoSmithKline workers vacated the building at 16th & Vine that was specifically built for their company fourteen years ago. With their move to a new (and really nice) facility at The Navy Yard, they left behind 225K sqft of office space on the edge of Philadelphia’s central business district that owners Liberty Property Trust had to somehow find a way to lease. Instead of attempting to find new tenants in a lousy market for office space, it seems they’re opting to sell the building.

Glaxo building

According to the Inquirer, Liberty has an agreement in place to sell the building to non-profit DeMedici II for a measly $29M. After the sale is completed, DeMedici II will perform a $10-12M renovation to the building, and lease…