A couple of years ago, plans emerged for the I. Brewster & Company Gallery to move from an extremely unimpressive building at the corner of 22nd & Market to a new space at 21st & Race in the former home of the Please Touch Museum. In the time that passed since those plans came to light, we all know about the changed landscape at this intersection due to the tragic building collapse over the summer. In the aftermath of that event, we noted that the entire 2100 block of Market Street is now pretty much vacant.

Perhaps with an eye toward the redevelopment of this block in the future or maybe simply attempting to take advantage of the existing foot traffic at this location, we've discovered that a new tenant is taking over the former gallery space. That tenant is the steady, if unexciting, 7-11.

Much to the chagrin of Wawa fans all over town, this marks yet another advance for 7-11 in town. As Wawa has retreated to the 'burbs and the comfort of convenience stores tied to gas stations, 7-11 has gotten very aggressive in greater Center City, opening at least half a dozen new locations in the last couple of years. Makes us wonder where the next one will pop up.

Meanwhile, we're a little bummed out that this unattractive building remains intact. This location is begging for additional density, and it seems like a missed opportunity here. We would have like to see the owners demolish the old and ugly building and replace it with something taller and mixed-use. Let's face it, if a project like that doesn't make sense here, does it make sense anywhere in town?