The area surrounding the intersection of 19th & Poplar has changed dramatically over the years, with new buildings appearing all over the place. We’ve seen duplexes replace a church at the southwest corner. We’ve seen a large tract of vacant land filled up on nearby Ginnodo Street. Developers tore down some blighted buildings just south of the intersection and built a couple dozen new homes. And the 1800 block of Poplar has seen some infill, as well. Through it all though, the southeast corner of 19th & Poplar remained vacant.

We’ve made no secret of our distaste for vacant lots, but this one was more acceptable than most. It had a nice big tree. It had the remains of another tree, coated in tiles in the style of Isaiah Zagar. And there was a sign that said ‘Francisville,’ covered in similar tiles. It wasn’t the perfect gateway for the neighborhood, but its wasn’t too bad, either. But still, we felt that the property would eventually get redeveloped, like all the other parcels in the area. Three summers back, we told you that this would indeed happen, as developers came up with a plan to build a pair of duplexes on the property. For whatever reason though, the project fell short at the ZBA and in 2016 the plan was revised to a pair of single family homes. Those homes are now under construction, and look pretty sweet in our estimation. Around the corner, there’s another home under construction on Perkiomen Street.

Looking at the fence in front of the construction site, you can see that the Poplar Street homes each include 3,000 sqft of living space, and 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. The homes aren’t yet listed for sale, but we imagine they’ll sell for well over half a million, given the comps in the area. The home on Perkiomen Street also isn’t listed yet, but it’ll probably sell for less, as it’s got a much smaller footprint.

When the homes are finished and sold in the coming months, the new owners will have the benefit of living across the street from Gin & Pop. This neighborhood gastropub opened a few months ago, taking over a space that was occupied for several years by Flying Carpet Cafe & Bar. Already, Gin & Pop is getting some pretty strong buzz, and we suspect that the presence of the restaurant will help the nearby homes sell a little more quickly than they would have otherwise.