Thanks to its industrial past, Fishtown has a plethora of old factories and warehouses that currently show various degrees of wear and tear. Since the neighborhood has experienced a development surge over the last several years, we've seen some of those old buildings demolished and replaced with new homes, others that have been converted to new uses, and others still that have maintained an industrial use and haven't really gotten any work done in years. One building that falls into the third category, 1102 E. Columbia Ave., might soon be in line some changes that would move it into the second category.
We don't know much about the building's history, but we can tell you that it was used as recently as a dozen years ago as a workshop for a collection of artisans. It has traded a few times since then, selling for $470K in 2004, $685K in 2005, and for $275K in 2009, as a bank owned property. An old listing also indicates that the property got approvals for four new construction townhomes with parking, but the permits have long expired. Now, there's a proposal on the table to add two stories to the existing building and convert it into a 7-unit apartment building. According to Fishtown.us, the project got shot down at a Fishtown Neighbors Association zoning meeting last month, with neighbors concerned about height and density.
We don't live nearby so our vote doesn't count, but this project seems entirely reasonable to us. The building has a ton of character and adding a couple of stories to preserve the older structure seems like a great way to maintain architectural diversity in the neighborhood. It's half a block from I-95 and about a block from East Girard, so density actually seems like a good idea to us, but then again we don't have to park around here so what do we know.
The project will go to the ZBA this week, we believe. What do you want to see happen? What do you think will happen?