At 1836 Delancey St., on the corner of one of the most regal blocks of Center City, sits a property that was given to General George Gordon Meade and his wife for his service in the Civil War. He died in the house in 1872.

The home

The current structure is listed as being built in 1885, indicating this likely isn’t the true iteration of the building the General called home. The plain, red-painted brick building stands as an end cap to the picturesque street, with Meade’s name carved above the entryway on South 19th Street. The haphazard and unkempt paint job, its plain red wall with awkwardly spaced windows, and its overall bleak appearance are out of place for the block. The building retains some early-20th century detail in the partially damaged leaded glass windows. It…

Just last week, we told you about Cambridge Row, a partnership between Fairmount CDC and local developer MM Partners to purchase a number of PHA properties, rehab them, and sell them on the open market. This project will be taking place on the 2700-3000 blocks of Cambridge Street, and will involve the revival of ten properties that have been sources of blight for years. And it seems that the spirit of rehabbing properties on Cambridge Street is contagious.

2800 Cambridge St.

2800 Cambridge St. is an imposing corner property, dwarfing the two story homes next door due to its height and the fact that the other homes on the south side of the block are set back from the front of their property line. The building was purchased by Cambridge Partners LLC back in September for $135K, and these developers seem serious about…

At last night’s SOSNA zoning meeting, representatives from Harman Deutsch presented plans for 2401 Carpenter St. to the community. Their proposal was to build an addition to the existing two-story building, and offer three condo units for sale in the renovated building. Looking at the structure today, it has some lovely bones. And looking at some old listings for the property, it looks like it has some nice original details inside as well.

The building

Looking west

At the meeting, several near neighbors spoke out in opposition to the project, mostly with concerns about the added density on a block with almost exclusively single family homes. It’s possible that the condo approach was something of a comfort, though small, one-floor condos often end up becoming rentals in the long run. One…

When we’re trying to head south through Center City, Juniper Street is occasionally our route of choice. And so for years, we’ve pondered 521 S. Juniper St., a long-blighted home a few doors from South Street on an otherwise charming block. Looking back to 2009, you can see it’s been in rough shape for at least that long and probably longer.

Yuck

Recently, we passed by this property and noticed that it’s looking… well, maybe not better, but definitely different. Windows on the northern side of the building have been replaced and the facade appears to have been taken off. Looking at the (more handy every day) L&I website, we noticed that building permits for this property were updated a couple of weeks ago.

Recent shot

Looking south down

…

We were in the area, noshing on some delicious Franco Luigi’s pizza, and noticed 1544 S. 13th St., a home that looks like it’s been under construction for a couple of months. It’s common that we see facades taken off the front of houses, but it’s not often that we see a rehab with cinderblocks filling in some of that gap. Perhaps to hold the roof up?

In the past

The other day

Interestingly, the home was purchased at the end of last year by Frank Borda, the gentleman who owns the very restaurant that we were enjoying when we noticed this construction in the first place. Could this project be an effort to move as close as possible to his business? Or is it instead simply an investment? Either one would make a great…

We were in the neighborhood the other day, and the sight of this building, under construction, gave us pause. 1600 Frankford Ave. has been on and off the market for the last couple of years, before finally being purchased by Barksdale Properties LLC earlier this year, for $210K.

The building

Inside, the building has nearly 3,400 sqft of space, and it had most recently been set up for five apartments. According to the most recent listing, the property was in need of a total rehab, and that is exactly what appears to be taking place. Speaking of the listing, it also boasts that the property is within walking distance of “Barcade Sandwich and Sub Shop.” Huh?

On Oxford St.

What was this, originally?

The bones of this building are very cool, and…