We were traveling down 21st Street the other day and some renovation work caught our eye on the 2100 block of Market Street. When we last visited this block, a former Papa Johns was under construction at the corner and we didn’t know what was coming in its place. Sound the trumpets everyone, it’s a Dunkin Donuts. On the plus side, the place has a little outdoor seating area in the back in which you can sit around wishing you were at Beiler’s instead.

Two doors down, you can see in the first image above, there’s some serious renovation work happening. Looking at the permits, we can shed some light on the situation. It seems the plans call for office space on the upper floors and a vanilla box restaurant space on the first floor. Perhaps someone has already laid claim to the office space, but given the non-specific description of the first floor, we’d guess that the restaurant space doesn’t yet have a tenant. So it goes.

Since we were already here, it seems like a good idea to explore some happenings a little to the west. Until just a few months ago, a two story parking garage was the only building left on the block beyond the fire station. We always kind of liked that building, but nobody asked our opinion as it has now been torn down. Permits indicate that the immediate plan for this large parcel is for it to function as a surface parking lot, though we told you previously that Brandywine Realty Trust owns most of the block and has plans for a 39-story mixed-use building. If the demolition of the garage is a step in that direction, we’re on board.

For those that don’t recall, there were some additional buildings on the western side of this block until 2013, when a building collapsed, mid-demolition, onto the Salvation Army store at the corner. At the corner, work is proceeding on a memorial park to honor the victims of this accident.