It’s been a complicated decade for the triangular property at 601 Christian St., as it’s transitioned from gas station to vacant lot to public green space to vacant lot to construction site. We’ve covered the saga of this property on several occasions, and for a detailed summary that goes through last summer, you can click here. To make a long story short though, after extensive negotiations with the community and some legal fees, the owners of the property are building a mixed-use building with 8 apartments and a ground-floor commercial space. Over the months since our last visit, we’ve seen an elevator tower go up, and now we can also see completed foundation work and the steel framing for the first floor.

A sign on the construction fence provides insight into the business that will be opening on the first floor of the building. If you squint at one of the images above, you can see that Philly Montessori will be the tenant. This micro-school will be open to children aged 2.5-6 years old, and as the name suggests, it will follow the Montessori educational model. For those unfamiliar, the Montessori model differs from traditional schooling in several ways, including increased choice for students, freedom of movement in the classroom space, and indirect instruction methods. Montessori schools also have mixed-age classrooms, which is the only way they’d be able to operate in what will be a space that’s just over 1,000 sqft. The school will also squeeze in an indoor gym and an art studio to go along with the classroom; somehow they’ll fit some kids and teachers in there, too.

While we’re in the area, it seems like as good a time as any to check in on two construction projects nearby for the first time in many months. As we’ve told you previously, three homes are under construction at the former Goldstein’s Men’s and Boy’s Apparel, and that process is moving along. The sign on the property suggests two homes are still available, but it seems that only one of the homes is still listed. One home has already sold at $920K, one is under agreement at $920K, and the third is on the market for $870K. Meanwhile, on the 600 block of Queen Street, two mansions have progressed as well, with both of the homes under agreement at list prices of $1.45M and $1.6M. We expect the Queen Street homes and the Goldstein homes to wrap up at some point a little later this year. And looking forward to the future, if any of the families that move to these homes have young kids, they’ll have a micro-school located pretty much in their front yards.