It’s been awhile since we’ve made our way up to the area around Temple University, but we happened to be in this neck of the woods early this morning, and spotted some interesting new buildings along the way. One of these was 1850 N 18th St., a property we brought to your attention last May.

In May

In the intervening months, the building has gone up rather quickly, and is pretty much finished. Architecturally, it’s got a little more character than some of the “G-Ho Specials” in the immediate area.

Quite a bit of progress

Access to underground parking

We happened to run into the developer, who told us that the fully rented building contains fifteen units with underground parking. He also indicated that he’s thinking about…

A few months back, we told you about 1107 S 2nd St., a mixed-use building that was on the way on a stretch of 2nd Street that was notable for new construction houses as well as stalled construction. Take a look at the site back in February, as a new foundation was being dug among vacant lots previously prepped for foundations.

In the past

In the months since, the building has risen at this location, and we suspect that Next Salon will be moving into the retail space in a matter of months. Meanwhile, the dormant construction site next door has finally showed signs of life in the past couple of weeks.

Future salon at sunset. Plus, new framing!

The three foundations off the corner have been completed, and are now slabs ready for new…

Over the weekend, we spotted three homes under construction at 2022-26 E Susquehanna Ave., perhaps a couple hundred yards from the El tracks over Front St. Even though the three are clearly being developed by one individual, it’s not entirely obvious who is developing these formerly vacant lots, as all three parcels are owned by different people who live in different states.

The three new homes

Men working in the street, and the El in the background

While we’ve seen plenty of new construction in East Kensington, we haven’t seen much this far north and this close to Front St. Sure, there’s a coffee shop just a few blocks to the east, but Norris Square Park is a mere block away to the west. And while the park has improved dramatically in terms of safety in recent years…