There's a neighbor in Brewerytown that's been helping us out tremendously in recent weeks, pointing us in the direction of just about every project in the neighborhood. Today we'll direct your attention toward one of the many projects he's brought to our attention, this time across the street from Girard College. 1228-32 W. College Ave. is a roughly 5,000 sqft parcel and until quite recently it was home to a structure that had clearly seen better days. Once upon a time, this stuccoed edifice might have been four separate homes, but we're pretty sure they were combined at some point in their history.
The history of the structure is now largely academic, since it was torn down earlier this year.
As the demolition and the newish hole in the ground might suggest, this property is now getting redeveloped. After it was on and off the market for several years, developers snatched up the property in 2014, paying $120K. This price seems like a tremendous bargain just a couple years later. These developers are now undertaking a plan to build a new apartment building which will have 11 units and 6 parking spots. As far as we can tell, this is a by-right project, as the property is zoned for multi-family use.
You may remember, we told you about another project nearby over the summer, where MM Partners will be renovating the former liquor store at the corner of College and Girard Avenues into a commercial building. Whatever retailers look at space in the first floor of that building will surely be encouraged by the additional residential development happening nearby. Ditto the businesses looking at the ground floor space at the Braverman Building half a block to the west or any of the available spaces on the West Girard corridor. Given the zoning on the 1200 block of W. College Ave., the state of many of the buildings, and the positive momentum in Brewerytown, we can predict that we'll see a few more apartment buildings rise here in the near future.