A reader checked in, wondering about the ongoing demolition of two buildings at 138-140 N. 17th St., just off the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. We swung by the location, and discovered that one building was already down and the other wasn’t much longer for this world. A cursory inquiry with the demo crew revealed no information whatsoever.

Demolition

Subway next door

The two buildings being demolished, the still-standing two-story building housing a Subway, and a small parking lot just to the north of the church pictured above are all owned by 17 Parkway Associates LP, and were purchased back in the late 1980s. Though the two demoed buildings look like they could have been homes or apartments, we suspect they were instead small offices. Looking at a Google Street View photo, however, it looks like they may have been unoccupied in recent years.

From a couple of years ago. The windows openings look like they're covered by trashbags.

Looking at the Gelcor Realty sign posted in the photo above, it seems that some or all of these buildings were on the market in some capacity at some point in the last few years. Could this demolition be the work of a new owner, whose purchase hasn’t shown up on public record yet? Could it be the group who’s owned the buildings for years, making a change? Does anyone in the neighborhood or involved with LSNA have any insight into what’s going on here?