Two years back, we openly wondered about the blighted Edward Corner building, located at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Shackamaxon Street. At the time, we determined that Core Realty owned the property, but couldn't figure out when or if they'd be bringing the building back to life.
We somehow didn't notice a Plan Philly story from 2010 which detailed a preliminary plan to renovate the building and open a diner on the first floor. With so much time passing though, it seems those plans were only preliminary. Though low-resolution, the rendering looked pretty nice, and we especially like that the ghost signs would have been preserved.
This morning, while we scanned our Twitter feed, we came upon the news that Core Realty is now looking to demo the building.
.@planphilly So much for reuse: Samchick has the historic Edward Corner building coming down http://t.co/bIahGwsulG http://t.co/thBWAkClgi
— Jill Betters (@BillJetters) April 3, 2015
The aforementioned tweet referenced an upcoming Fishtown Neighbors Association zoning meeting where the developers are presenting a plan for a twelve-story building with 180 apartments and retail. The project will also include twelve townhomes. And a ton of parking. Sadly, the project would mean the end of the Edward Corner building.
There will surely be more information forthcoming on this project, surely at the community meeting if not beforehand. As this project is only in the planning stages, perhaps there's a world in which the existing building can be incorporated into the redevelopment plans. Let's hope that there's some room for negotiation. As the upcoming FNA meeting will also include a presentation for another parcel a block away on Delaware Ave., expect it to be extremely well attended. Maybe we'll see ya there.