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 Many blighted properties have been replaced by new homes, and plenty of vacant lots have been filled in.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…

Back in June, we told you about a project planned for 731 N. 20th St., a little home built as part of a PHA homeownership program a few decades back, that was to involve the home’s demolition and replacement with a quadplex. One possible hiccup that we brought up at that time was the existence of a blighted PHA home immediately next door, and the presence of a couple others on the block.

The blight next door

Whelp, the project that we originally told you about appears to be on hold for the time being, but there is something interesting to share about the blighted PHA homes on the block- they appear to be on the outs. For example,

The other night, at the monthly South Philadelphia H.O.M.E.S. zoning meeting, developers presented a proposal for two duplexes at 1256-58 S. 20th St., the northwest corner of 20th & Wharton. Looking at the corner currently, you see a large vacant lot. This project will only fill about half of this lot, as the rest is owned by another developer.

The lot

At the meeting, a representative from KJO Architecture presented plans for two 3-story duplexes which would totally transform this corner. To give you an idea how, the corner currently has vacant lots on the northwest and southeast corners, a giant warehouse full of construction supplies on the southwest corner, and a corner store on the northeast corner.

Looking north, corner store is on the right and OCF Coffee House is just

…

Way back in January, we told you about 4006-10 Baring St., three triplexes plus a commercial space planned for a West Philly block that’s seen a ton of new development in recent years. With most of that construction coming at the hands of developers Errol McAlinden and Gerard Regan, it was no shock for us to learn that they were behind this project as well.

In January

While nothing much was happening at this site for the past eight months, we were in the area the other day and noticed that foundations have finally been poured. And by a happy coincidence, we happened to run into the builders, even though it was around seven in the morning.

The other day

According to McAlinden & Regan, the homes will be framed out in the next couple of months, and should be…

According to a zoning application that went before the ZBA yesterday, three duplexes should soon be on the way for 1834-38 Poplar St., in Francisville. These three lots, which have been vacant for some time, were acquired by developer Mark Adams (not to be confused with Adams Mark) over the past couple of years.

Not this

But this

The application states that these will be four stories and quite tall (44′ to be exact), and will have roof decks. With that kind of height, we imagine that these will be condos, rather than rentals. And what a location to build! This could very well be the epicenter of development in Francisville at the moment.

As we’ve told you in the past, TMB Group is in the process of building five duplexes, right on the other…

In November, we told you about the most ambitious new construction project that we’ve seen to date in Kensington, a huge multi-unit project on the southwest corner of 2nd and Oxford Sts.

In November

These two buildings were completed over the past few months, and almost all of the units have been rented. The apartments are different sizes and offered at different price points, with 2 bed/1 bath units renting for $1395/mo, 2 bed/2 bath units renting for $1695, and 3 bed/3 bath units renting for around $2000/mo. Each of the units, from what we understand, include an on-site parking space. Even though it’s new construction with parking included, we confess that the rents are a little higher than we were expecting. Hasn’t apparently hampered the rental process.

With the success of Phase 1 of this project, we have some…