Westrum Development Company was way ahead of the curve in Brewerytown, building an entire square block of homes on the 3100 blocks of Thompson and Master Streets over a decade ago, seemingly planning for a neighborhood on the rise. Change didn’t come as quickly as expected, and the economic downturn of 2008 didn’t help, so Westrum’s plans for additional development was put on hold, indefinitely. It wasn’t until 2014 that Westrum started up again in the neighborhood, building 31 Brewerytown, a pair of large rental apartment buildings on the south sides of the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Thompson Street. Earlier this year, we told you about a plan for 200 more units from Westrum on the large vacant lot to the south of the Red Bell Brewery, though that project hasn’t gotten started yet.

They can afford to bide their time for this project, as they’ve got another one progressing nicely right across the street. 1415 N. 31st St. has been sitting vacant for a long time, but at this moment, a new building is under construction. This four-story building will have 49 apartments and 53 parking spots, contained in an unfortunate surface parking lot on both the north side and the south side of the building. 31 Brewerytown has a similar parking ratio, but they were able to keep the surface parking on one side of the building rather than bookending it like a hotel. We wish they could have found another approach, but here we are.

This project joins another relatively new rental project on this block, the Annex @ Brewerytown. This project started coming together about a year ago, and replaces an old warehouse building. It went up quickly because it’s modular, and units are now available for rent at prices between $1,750 for a 2 bedroom unit, to $2,200 for a 3 bedroom unit. Though the project looks like a collection of small apartment buildings, there are still solid amenities like a fitness center and a rooftop pool. Also, there’s a sweet mural on the building’s western side.

All these new residents will surely mean good things for Girard Avenue, a commercial corridor which continues to improve slowly and surely. Even closer is the Flying Fish Crafthouse, on the first floor of the Fairmount @ Brewerytown building just to the south. We always say, happy hour is a great way to meet your neighbors.