We’ve seen an increasing amount of development activity in the Callowhill neighborhood, but some prominent vacancy remains. One example is the Heid Building, at 325 N. 13th St., which has been sitting empty for over a decade. According to Hidden City, the eight-story building was originally built in 1927, after an amazingly short 7-month construction schedule. It’s known as the Heid building because it was once home to the Frank P. Heid & Company, a hat manufacturer. Over time it was used for printing and as office space, but it has sat empty since Thylan Associates bought it back in 2004.

Thylan had long planned to convert the building into office space, even going to the trouble of creating a website advertising that space was available for rent. Perhaps Thylan didn’t find the office game to their liking at this location, or maybe another developer has stepped in but the info hasn’t yet hit public record. Either way, a reader has reached out to us with news of a zoning notice on the building indicating that it will soon get redeveloped into an apartment building. The notice indicates 97 units, a shared rooftop space, a ground-floor restaurant, and 50 bike parking spots. All of this sounds great to us.

Just last month, we covered an addition right across the street from this property and noted that the neighborhood is on the rise. The Hanover North Broad recently wrapped up around the corner, and has added a couple hundred new apartments to the area. Perhaps more importantly, the Rail Park is progressing nicely and should be ready for its closeup as a neighborhood (and city) amenity in the very near future. With the Heid building now on track to get redeveloped, it will only fan the flames in Callowhill. We wouldn’t be surprised to see other persistent vacancy in the area get filled in the coming years, though we’ll probably have to make an exception for the Willow Street Steam Generation Plant. We could be waiting awhile for that one.