Thanks to William Penn really thinking things through back in the day, our city has been easy to navigate since before everybody had a GPS machine in their pocket. Of course, some areas can get a little tricky, with Francisville chief among the confusing neighborhoods that are close to downtown. For those that never noticed, a section of Francisville between Francis and Ginnodo Streets turns the grid on a 45-degree angle, tracking along Ridge Avenue. This not only makes it tough to identify addresses in the area, but it also creates a number of triangular lots. One such property, 1644 Francis St., has been sitting vacant for quite some time.
We passed this property earlier this week and discovered a triangular foundation. We don't see this very often.
MJL Properties bought the property a couple years back, taking it through the permitting process to build a triplex. But for whatever reason, construction didn't get moving until very recently. But these guys are now getting busy on multiple projects- as you may recall we told you about ten units they're now building in Spring Garden on Green Street. We'd guess that the Francis Street project will also be offered as condos, with the plans describing the future four-story building as the Lofts at 1644.
Given the unique shape of the building, we'd be interested to learn how the architects from Morrissey Design laid out the units. One thing is clear though, with frontage on two streets and a side yard, these units will have some wonderful natural light. And the fact that the City owns the vacant lot next door should ensure that there's even more natural light here for years to come.