Last spring, we told you about Midwood Development‘s plans to demolish the three buildings on the southeastern corner of 15th & Walnut and replace them with a contemporary building. We’d heard rumblings that tenants would include the gross but extremely popular Cheesecake Factory, a Sovereign Bank branch, and Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo. Within a few months, we’d learned that Uniqlo was out, and now it seems that the bank is out of the picture as well. According to Inga Saffron, suburban tourists can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears that the Cheesecake Factory will be a go.

Current view of the corner

Rendering of the future

Last week, Saffron reviewed the new building coming to this corner, effusively praising the design by Bohlin Cywinski…

PhillyCarShare, Philly’s local non-profit car sharing service, recently moved their offices to 1226 Chestnut St.

After being acquired by Enterprise Holdings last summer, they wanted their new office space to be at street-level, giving more exposure to the brand, as well as offering customers a place to drop by with gas receipts and any questions they may have.  According to their press release, “The new location, which is convenient to mass transit and walk-in customers, is consistent with the environmental commitment that is a hallmark of PhillyCarShare, as well as Enterprise.”  Kind of nice to have a local brand with a local retail presence, no?

Good signage

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Last week, we wrote about some unexpectedly vacant buildings in Old City and happened to mention a recently opened convenience store in one of the formerly vacant commercial spaces. We were recently tipped off about another neighborhood market that recently opened on 3rd St., just north of Vine St.

Blurry. Sorry.

Looking south

Torch-Wood Market opened about a month ago, and definitely fills a need in the neighborhood. Though the Sassafras Market sits just a block and a half to the south, it also happens to sit on the other side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. While we appreciate that the bridge provides us access to inexpensive booze and gasoline (shhh…), Old City residents have to deal with the massive steel structure looming over them on a daily basis. And we can’t imagine that it’s…

We got a tip from a reader that work was being done in this space on the occasionally bustling corner of 10th and Christian Sts., so we went over to check things out. And no, we absolutely did not get a cannolli at Isgro when we were in the neighborhood, despite what you may have heard.

When we got there, we peeked into the windows and noticed what looked like new hardwood floors along with paint, caulk, and other construction materials scattered about. We remember going into Ventura’s, the Mexican grocery that formerly occupied the space, for avocados once upon a time, and we can assure you that the new occupants have definitely improved the space significantly.

Paper on the windows is falling down

View from 10th St. New tile floor in the space on the right

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A couple of days ago, the Mugshots in Manayunk closed its doors after five years. But fear not, coffee lovers! Out of the ashes of the Manayunk location, a new Mugshots will rise at a new location at 1520 Cecil C. Moore Ave., right in the middle of Temple main campus. As you can see, they still have plenty of work to do in the space. As soon as they’re done, it’ll be great news for Temple students and faculty.

Still work to be done

The new Mugshots will occupy a corner retail space in the new Beech International Village building, which just opened for tenants just last week. It’s intended for International students and faculty, but is open to anyone who wishes to live there. The building is a dramatic improvement over what occupied…