We got an email from a reader recently, telling us about a potential development opportunity at the edge of Brewerytown. The property, 2414 W. Thompson St., is currently listed for sale for $125K and is probably priced a little on the high side but could indeed represent a worthwhile investment for the right developer. The building is zoned for mixed-use, and you can clearly see that some kind of store was located here at some point. We know that the first floor space has been empty for at least a decade and given the declining state of the neighborhood until somewhat recently, we'd wager was empty for quite a bit longer. With some satisfying original details apparent on the building's exterior, we just hope that whoever eventually buys the place renovates it rather than tearing it down and building something new.
Perhaps more interesting than the building itself is the rest of the 2400 block of W. Thompson Street. The block has a number of blighted buildings and a considerable number of vacant lots. Check it out:
Amazingly, most of these lots are privately owned, with many having been bought in the last half dozen years. This is great news, as we feared that most of the vacant lots were owned by City agencies or PHA. With so many of these properties in the hands of private developers, it's quite likely that we'll see many of them filled in the near future, either by the current owners or the next owners. And while this block is somewhat on the Brewerytown fringe and a couple blocks away from the West Girard corridor, there's other development nearby, notably on the 2300 block of W. Thompson Street and on the 1200 block of N. 25th Street. So yeah, the price for 2414 W. Thompson St. may seem a little high right now, but if things break right on this block it could turn into a deal for somebody. You, perhaps?