We’ve always had an appreciation for the building at 1801-03 Fairmount Ave., with its curved facade at the corner and its metal cornice above the first floor. We wonder about the building’s history, whether there was ever more than just one story at the corner, and what kind of businesses operated here back in the day. Maybe a drug store? A diner? Maybe someone that lives in the neighborhood can help fill in the blanks. More recently, the building has housed an art gallery on the first floor, but that’s going to change rather soon.

Looking at the building, you can see there are zoning notices posted, advertising some upcoming construction. Developers have the property under agreement, after it sat on the market for less than a week at a list price of $1.325M. According to the zoning notice, the new owners are looking to build an addition to the building, to a height that doesn’t exceed 55′. The renovated building will include a restaurant on the first floor and 10 apartments on the upper floors, assuming it gets approval from the ZBA. We suspect the building will maintain its curved corner, but we couldn’t tell you whether it’ll retain the metal cornice that makes it so fun. As for the restaurant that’s planned for the space, we’ve heard nothing at this point.

It’s also possible that the new owners of 1801 Fairmount Ave. don’t yet have a restaurant tenant in place, but have a desire to land a restaurant tenant once they get their approvals. With Bar Hygge across the street, the relocated RyBread down the block, and Tela’s Market immediately to the west, another dining establishment would certainly make sense at this location. The same could be said for the Mortgage Security Trust building across the street, which underwent a major renovation about a year ago. Those huge windows would look great in a dining room, wouldn’t you agree?