If you’ve ever walked, driven, or biked around the northern end of Temple‘s campus, perhaps you’ve marveled at the beautiful and surprisingly intact architecture of Diamond Street. In an area that’s seen more than its share of vacancy and blight in recent decades, many of the Victorian townhouses on Diamond Street have remained more or less in one piece, and many have been respectfully renovated and rehabbed in recent years.

Homes on the 1700 block

According to the Preservation Alliance, the Diamond Street Historic District runs from Carlyle to Van Pelt Street, containing hundreds of homes constructed between 1875 and 1900. These homes were built due to both an increase in the City’s population during those years as well as the addition of two streetcar lines that ran up to Susquehanna, making commuting to Center City much more practical…

The Loonstyn family is on a development tear. Loonstyn Properties and MJL Properties, both owned by members of the Loonstyn family, have embarked on projects large and small in the last few years in the Francisville, Fairmount, and Spring Garden neighborhoods. Recently, Loonstyn Properties acquired two historic Victorian homes in Spring Garden, and are currently performing renovations to restore the exterior to its original condition. Ultimately, the building will be a multi-unit rental property.

The two on the corner

That renovation will mean new eleven new one-bedroom apartments spread through two separate buildings, 2101 and 2103 Spring Garden St., located in the Spring Garden Historic District. The units will each be around 750 sq ft, according to Bill Loonstyn of Loonstyn Properties. He said they are still determining how much they plan to charge for rent. Loonstyn purchased the…

This weekend, we stopped over at Blackbird for a delicious vegan hoagie and noticed orange zoning notices at the corner of 6th and Addison Sts., in Society Hill.

Check it out

Vacant lot

This lot, which is currently used for parking, is associated with 601 Lombard St., a two-story, double-wide building that contains four 1-bedroom rental apartments.

Rentals fronting Lombard St.

The lot and the building together sit on a 43′x115′ lot, of which the building occupies about 40%. James Li and Pamela Jin, the folks who purchased the property for $730K back in 2010, are proposing two homes on the currently vacant lot which will each rise four stories and will have included garage parking. We imagine the sizable, extra-wide homes, will front Addison St., but don’t expect…