Weeks ago, we wondered whether a former factory at 8th & Jefferson could represent an opportunity for future redevelopment. Though the site is only a half a dozen blocks away from Temple University, and just a couple of blocks south of the still-under-construction Paseo Verde project, it still has significant limitations in terms of its development potential. For one, it’s right next to elevated Septa tracks. Additionally, hundreds of PHA homes are located immediately to the east of the property. Still, redevelopment could certainly come to this location at some point in the future.

The old factory

Around the corner from this blighted building, we recently spotted a much smaller scale project in the works which could be a sign of things to come. In the last several months, 746 W. Master St. was demolished. Don’t mourn for it, the building looked totally awful.

In the past

Current view

According to plans that were approved by the ZBA last week, the new owners of the property will be constructing a three story triplex on this site. Like the factory, there are some limitations to the development site.

The view to the west

We can only assume that this property will be marketed as student housing for Temple students, though we couldn’t find any other obvious examples of student rentals on the surrounding blocks. Could this mean that more student housing construction will be coming to this area, or will this project be an outlier? For the record, the vacant lot next door was purchased by investors at the end of last year, so it seems quite possible that more development could be arriving soon, very close by. We’ll come back here in a few months and see if any changes have taken place/any frat houses have set up shop.