Last summer, we brought 1101-03 Frankford Ave. to your attention, noting that the blighted building represented a stalled residential conversion project that was unfortunately tied up with litigation and delinquent taxes. This building was quite a bit of history, having been home to a hosiery mill and an elevator factory at different points over the years.

Last summer

A few weeks ago, a reader checked in and told us that dumpsters had appeared outside this property, and it was apparently being gutted. An interior demolition permit from last month would seem to confirm this diagnosis.

Last week

Apparently, the building got some new owners right before we wrote our post last August, only this wasn’t reflected in public record until several months later. Real Estate 1101 Frankford LLC got a serious deal, purchasing the building at sheriff’s sale…

Back in December, we brought 1526 Frankford Ave. to your attention, noting that the former Samuel Machinery Co. warehouse had recently gotten its facade ripped off. At that time, a tarp was temporarily covering the front of the building, and we had no idea about what plans might be in store.

In the past

In December

Fast forward five months and the building has most of a new facade and we have a halfway decent idea of what’s to come. Next week, the developers will come before Fishtown Neighbors Association to present plans for a restaurant/cafe with residential units above. We’re not going to speculate on the restaurant concept that’s in the works, because no matter what it’s gonna be a huge upgrade over what was there before.

Facade is progressing.

…

We were zipping up Frankford Avenue last week to grab a slice and a scoop at Pizza Brain and Little Baby’s Ice Cream, respectively, when we noticed some new-looking signage next to Palmer Park. Truth be told, we’d wondered about 1619 Frankford Ave. in the past, admiring its unique appearance and wondering why it didn’t have a business operating out of the first floor. But it seems our wondering has come to an end, as Steap and Grind will apparently be doing business out of this triangle-shaped structure in the very near future.

In the past

Current view

According to a thread on Fishtown.us, this new cafe will offer coffee, loose tea, and “delicious breakfast treats.” Apparently, the space was very nearly a gourmet cheese shop operated by…

A reader checked in the other day, and told us that the former Advance Auto Supplies at Girard & Marlborough was finally sold. The building has been on and off the market a few times over the years, originally listed at $1.5M back in 2007 when the store first closed. From what we can tell, the final sale price was around $725K.

The building

The sale includes the large building with eighty-five feet of frontage on Girard along with the adjacent home, which is in need of renovation. With no ideas about the identity of the buyer and no permits pulled (we’ll give them a break, as they only closed a few days ago), we can only speculate on what will come to this location. Will the new owners renovate the existing structure and seek a new retail tenant for the first…

Weeks ago, we gave you the lowdown on Frank 2, a new mixed-use development from Postgreen. This development will include the construction of four apartments and a new restaurant space, which will fill a large gap on the 2000 block of Frankford Avenue.

Recent shot of lot

Rendering of Frank 2

Well, it turns out that the lots upon which Frank 2 will rise are a little deeper than the project needed them to be. As such, the rear section of 2032-34 Frankford Ave. is being snipped off and reoriented to become 2037-39 Blair St., where Postgreen will be constructing a couple of new single-family homes.

Blair St. side of the lots

These homes will be Postgreen “Signature Homes,” and will feature some of the most unique…

A couple of months ago, we told you about plans from Postgreen to construct FRANK 2, a new mixed-use building at 2032-34 Frankford Ave., currently a vacant lot. Today, we have a little bit of new information as well as some pretty new pictures to share. In case you’re forgotten, the lot currently looks like this:

A couple of months back

According to Chad Ludeman from Postgreen, Orange Concepts is doing the design work for this property, which will have four apartments and a restaurant space on the first floor. The double-wide building will provide for a dynamic restaurant space, and a rear yard area could potentially