The 1100 blocks of N. Howard St. and N. Hope St. have come up repeatedly on this site over the past year, mostly due to the Residences at H3, a large project that’s brought twenty new homes to these blocks. As those homes have apparently been completed, we’ve seen some smaller infill projects crop up, and there are also plans in the works for thirty new homes on Hope Street, replacing a burned-down warehouse.

Looking down Howard St.

More to come on Hope St.

Today, we have some news on a small infill project at 1133 N. Howard St., which extends all the way to Hope St. in the rear. We bring this to your attention not only to further demonstrate the continuing progress on these blocks, but also to show off one of…

Back in April, we told you about two new homes that were getting built on Hope Street in Northern Liberties, just south of Girard Avenue. At the time, the Residences at H3 were under heavy construction and we wondered about the desirability of living across the street from a couple of severely blighted warehouses. In the intervening months, the H3 project has been finished, and the warehouses caught fire. So now, instead of a construction site and a blighted building, these homes, which are now finished, sit next to a parking lot and across the street from a more secured empty warehouse and a vacant lot.

Finished homes

Looking up the block. New homes on the left.

Since the first two homes apparently worked so nicely, the same developers are coming back for more. Yesterday, at…

As Philly.com has reported, a four-alarm fire struck an abandoned factory on Front Street, just south of Girard Avenue, early this morning. The fire caused problems for commuters this morning, disrupting service on the El; shuttle buses are running between Spring Garden and Huntington Stations. This fire brings back memories of the five-alarm fire at another abandoned factory back in April, which resulted in the tragic deaths of two firefighters. Thankfully, today’s fire hasn’t taken any lives.

Still smoldering

As it turns out, we’ve brought this particular building to your attention a few times before. A huge construction project, Residences at H3, is under construction right across the street, as are some other homes in unrelated projects. In the past, we wondered whether the blighted, abandoned, and apparently unsecured warehouse would represent…

On the up-and-coming 1100 block of North Hope St., two more parcels will soon join numerous other properties currently being redeveloped. In January, NLNA gave their support to the construction of two single family homes at 1140-42 N. Hope St., each with four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The lots

According to public record, these lots have been owned by the City of Philadelphia since the 1980′s. From what we can tell, the developer is still in the process of purchasing these lots from the city, for a price of $25K per lot. Sure, these lots are pretty small, each measuring 560 sqft, but that’s still a pretty wonderful price, considering the location.

To be honest, the location has both pluses and minuses. On the one hand, the Residences at H3, which we last mentioned a couple of…

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about the Regis Group‘s project to convert the former School of Rock building at 1508-16 Brandywine St. into residential units. Today, we present you with a bit more information, plus a shiny rendering to admire.

The project is being designed by JKR Partners, the same folks who designed the Residences at H3 in Northern Liberties, which we covered last week. According to a source at JKR, the Brandywine Lofts will consist of ten rental apartments on the second and third floors of the building, with a parking garage and a garden courtyard on the first floor. Five of the apartments will be on the second floor, three will be on the third floor, and two bilevel units will straddle the two floors. The apartments will range in…