A couple of readers have reached out to us in the last few days, wondering about some zoning notices they, uh, noticed, on the 800 block of N. Delaware Ave., just south of Wells Meats. This discovery was incredibly exciting, as zoning notices near the river are often a sign of a significant new project on the horizon. As we thought about the address, we recalled a story we wrote last year about a development called Wellshaus which called for a couple of mid-rise apartment buildings with a retail strip in between them at this location. The project looked amazing, but we were ultimately informed that the designs were done on spec and the project wasn’t actually forthcoming.

We resigned ourselves more than half a year ago to the reality that the Wellshaus project wasn’t gonna happen, but those zoning notices gave us some hope that it would be moving forward after all. And what a game changer this development would be for the Delaware waterfront! Alas, it isn’t meant to be- at least not right now.

We made our way over to the property, which was last in use as an office furniture store maybe a decade ago, to examine the zoning notices. And we came away profoundly disappointed. The zoning notices aren’t for this property at all. They relate to the project at 626 N. Delaware Ave., the car dealership-apartment building planned at the corner of Fairmount Avenue. So what happened here that these posters went up two blocks north of their intended destination? It seems this mistake can be chalked up to a minor Google Maps snafu. When you input 626 N. Delaware Ave. into Google Maps, for some reason the website points you to the 800 block of Delaware Ave. instead, right where the zoning notices are posted.

Truth be told, we can’t be too tough on whoever posted the notices for their error- it’s really hard to keep track of addresses on Delaware Ave./Columbus Boulevard. While it’s good to have an explanation for the rouge zoning notices, we’re still feeling a little disappointed that there’s nothing happening here, and specifically Wellshaus is still just an architectural fantasy. That being said, maybe we’ll keep bringing it up from time to time, and maybe if we keep wishing hard enough it’ll finally happen. Just don’t take that bet to Sugarhouse, ok?