Philadelphia used to be a home to a thriving industrial economy. Many factories that once buzzed with the work of daily life in Kensington, Old City, or the loft district are now apartments, transformed by developers with an eye toward the city’s history.

A building that has yet to be transformed by developers is located at 1422-30 N. 8th St., with a footprint that covers half a city block. Once home to the Feitelson M & Sons company, the building is across the street from the Wakisha Charter School, a fact that was quickly brought to our attention by shouting kids leaving school when we were in the area. The building is also next to elevated regional rail tracks, just a few blocks south of the Temple University station.

View under the tracks

From 8th St

Signs on a couple of the doors indicate that the building is for lease, but we believe that it’s also available for sale. According a listing we discovered online, the owners are willing to accept $60K/year for the property or $895K as a sale price. Would some industrial company be willing to pay $5K/month for this structure? We honestly have no idea. Would a buyer come forward at something close to the asking price with an eye toward redevelopment, perhaps into student housing? That’s an idea that seems far more possible, though the property is still a good ways from Temple Main Campus.

View from the south

Defaced sign on the lot

The site has a large vacant lot to the south that was once tabbed for a PHA development that apparently never got off the ground. To the north, south, and east you can find plenty of additional vacant land as well as a number of PHA homes. Given the fact that the property is next to the train tracks and so far from Temple, we’d guess it will be years before market-rate development becomes feasible here. But then again, Paseo Verde is just a few blocks to the north. Stranger things have happened.

–Lou Mancinelli