Way back when, we believe there was a drinking establishment of some kind on the northwest corner of 18th & Carpenter. That was before our time though, because we can only remember a time when the one story building at 932 S. 18th St. was sitting blighted and vacant. But you have to agree, this certainly looks like a place that used to be a bar.

In 2011, we brought this property to your attention and noted that it had been owned by the same individual since the mid-1980s. We mentioned that this person wasn’t such a conscientious owner, as they allowed the property to fall into a state of disrepair and also neglected their tax bills for over a decade. But we were optimistic that change was coming to this corner, partially because the property was listed for sale at the time for $200K, and also because the City had condemned the building and torn it down.

The very next year, Metro Impact put the property under agreement and came in front of the SOSNA community with a plan to build a triplex. That plan was ultimately withdrawn before the ZBA could rule though, and nothing happened here for quite some time as the property sat vacant. But finally, something is moving forward here; we passed by the property just the other day, and noticed a new hole in the ground.

Streamline Philly bought the property last spring and is now pursuing a triplex, and they’re looking to build entirely by right. Their project calls for three side-by-side homes which as far as we can tell will have roughly 320 sqft floor plates. This is a tripling down on a home design that was used last year at the corner of 21st & Webster, but when you consider that the Webster Street home sold for $500K, maybe they’re onto something. One of the units was listed briefly at that very price before construction got started, and that listing included a rendering of what we can expect to see here.

We get it, new construction is very much in demand in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, and some developers are looking to find ways to get people into homes at the bottom of the neighborhood price range. Still, we don’t believe that this project will be the beginning of a mini-home trend in this neighborhood, as these homes are essentially a new take on a trinity, and less space really goes against current development trends in Philadelphia. Of course, if these homes sell quickly and at high prices, we reserve the right to change our tune and anoint this project as being brilliant and ahead of its time.