Right around the corner from where 191 units are being proposed for a huge vacant lot at Germantown and Thompson, at 221 W. Girard Ave., a three-story building is being renovated. When finished, it will include some new bay windows and a little retail space on the first floor.

Under construction

According to City records, Modern Development Group purchased the property in February for only $20K. Google Images from 2011 show the building sporting a booger yellow shabbily stuccoed ground floor and what looks like a construction permit on a ground-floor window.

In the past

If this part of Girard Ave. is ever to catch up to East Girard, it’s got its work cut out for it. East of Front Street, Girard has seen several new additions in the past few years, where Johnny Brenda’s has stood as an anchor for quite some time. East Girard Gastropub, Kraftwork, and Pizzeria Beddia are all relatively new additions to East Girard, which was maintaining a successful commercial corridor even before Fishtown started blowing up. The newest addition is a large mixed-use building with a ground-floor Palm Tree Market.

Another addition for East Girard

Whoever the new retail occupant will be at the property that’s now under construction, it be one more improvement to this strip of West Girard. As it were, on either side of the building, new businesses have come online in the past few years. Little Shop of Dresses at 219 opened in November 2012. And on the other side, Dos Funny Frogs, a cleaning service, opened in 2010. So it looks like 221 W. Girard Ave. was a few years comin’, but now improvements are finally underway.

–Lou Mancinelli