We've wondered about the vacant southeast corner of 31st & Thompson for a long time.
Our hopes for this property grew last year when plans emerged for 31 Brewerytown, the 64-unit rental project from Westrum on the southwest corner of this intersection. In fact, Westrum used the southeast corner as a staging area for 31 Brewerytown, mostly to store unassembled modular sections during construction. Last month, that project wrapped up and we said: "With the apparent success of 31 Brewerytown, we're now hopeful that Westrum will redevelop the east side of the 1200 block of N. 31st Street. Today, it seems more likely than ever before." Sometimes we're prescient, people.
It's a fence! And a pile of dirt! And some heavy construction equipment! Holy crap, something is happening here!
But we're not exactly sure what it is that's happening. According to permits, Westrum is building a four story modular structure with fifty-four open-air parking spaces, twelve interior parking spaces, and seventeen bike spaces. We have to imagine that they're pleased with the success of 31 Brewerytown and this new project will resemble its sister across the street.
We don't know what the project will look like or how many units it will entail. We assume it will be a rental property but we're not sure about that either. And honestly none of those details matter to us. We're just so pleased to see this long-vacant property getting developed after so many years. Sure, Brewerytown still has some enormous vacancies, but another one biting the dust is only good news for this emerging neighborhood. With this one knocked off the list, now we'll start the countdown for the big lot at 27th & Girard. That one should be getting started soon, we'd guess.