The 2500 block of Kern Street is seeing some changes and there are more on the way. Actually, we're being a little more specific than is needed, since it seems that the 2500 block makes up the entirety of Kern Street. So let's start again.
Have you heard of Kern Street? It's a one-block street in East Kensington which runs between Frankford Avenue and Coral Street, starting on E. Sergeant Street and ending at E. Huntingdon Street. We don't know why it exists as just a single block, but we can tell you it's been around since at least the 1860s. Here, check it out on the map which shows things much more clearly.
One side of the block has a row of two-story homes, one of which was rehabbed within the last year. The skinny home was purchased by developers last April, fixed up, and sold in September for $185K. Pretty good value if you ask us, given the proximity to Frankford Avenue. Check out this photo and see if you can guess which one sold a few months ago.
But this wasn't what drew our attention to the block. Instead, two new homes across the street caught our eye.
V2 Properties bought five lots on this block late last year, and now they're working on two homes, pictured above. In addition to these homes above, 2559 and 2561 Kern St., they'll be building two more homes further down the block. They bought three vacant lots at 2547-51 Kern St. but are combining the three into two larger lots to build better homes. Once those get underway, there will still be three vacant lots on the block, two of which are owned by another private developer and one that's owned by the City. So within a year, we expect just one vacant lot will remain on this little block.
Update: Per a commenter, two of the remaining vacant lots are owned by Arcadia Commons, a local non-profit that is committed to preserving open green space in the neighborhood. The lots they own won't be getting redeveloped after all.