In March, we speculated about a proposed ten-home development at 1235 Crease St., in Fishtown. Developers were, at the time, planning to build ten units, with five homes fronting Crease Street, and five additional homes fronting an interior courtyard of sorts. According to the very active comments section for that post, near neighbors generally did not support this plan, due to density concerns, worries about light and air, complaints about the architectural style, and a belief by some that these homes would be rentals, rather than owner occupied homes. Noting this opposition, we were concerned that the developers might give up, leaving this block with the undesirable status quo.

Houses seem better than this

As was suggested in the aforementioned comments section, the developers didn’t run away, but instead modified their plan to take some of the neighbors’ concerns into account. In place…

Just yesterday, we told you about seven houses on the way at 614-20 N. American St. in Northern Liberties. Today, through the magic of electronic communication, we present renderings for these new homes, courtesy or architects Harman Deutsch.

The empty lot

Looking at the renderings, we can see our inference from the zoning application was a little off. Rather than seven homes fronting American St. as we originally believed, this development will only have three of the homes face American St., and the other four fronting Bodine St.

Rendering of the American St. homes

And the four homes fronting Bodine St.

Architecturally, the homes look very promising, and they should fit in well with many of the other new construction homes in the area. One thing we’re not sold on…

As we told you a few weeks ago, Washington Avenue Green is a newish park that runs along the Delaware river between Washington Ave. and Wal-Mart. The park not only gives locals better access to the river, but it gives visitors practical insights into the importance of water runoff management.

Aerial shot. Washington Avenue Green today is at the bottom of the shot. Image from Planphilly.

As we mentioned, the Washington Ave. Green we know today is merely the first step for this park, with several possibilities for improvements and expansion in the future. According to Planphilly, the next steps for the park are currently being considered, and we’re not talking about a small addition by any means. The centerpiece of Phase II for this park would be the construction of a self-supporting boardwalk that would…