Eight or more condos along with ground-floor retail may soon fill another vacancy on the busy N. 2nd Street commercial corridor in Northern Liberties. Half a block south of the Piazza at 950-54 N. 2nd St., this project would replace an ugly garage and a strip of vacant land next door.

In 2005, the property was purchased by developers who got approvals for a five-story building with underground parking. But that plan never got off the ground. The property went back on the market this summer at an asking price of $750K and is currently under agreement. Since the previous variances have apparently lapsed, the new owners are looking to go in a different direction with the property. Last month, they appeared before the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association with plans to tear down the garage and construct a new 10-unit building with ground-floor commercial and three parking spots. But those plans will have to be tweaked before the NLNA will offer its support.

The changes demanded by the community include lowering the count from ten to perhaps eight larger units, and doing away with the three parking spots altogether due to their front ground-level entrance, “which robbed,” said Larry Freedman, NLNA zoning chair, “we felt, half of the commercial potential.”

This past summer we shared with you a number of new businesses and plans for new businesses to fill in other vacancies that appear in isolated chunks along N. 2nd Street between Girard and Spring Garden. For example, in June we told you about a NovaCare facility coming to 2nd & Green. Plus, there is a new cafe coming to the 700 block, and jazz on the horizon for the 900 block. So while N. 2nd Street was already a redevelopment success story, it’s continuing to improve, which points to economic strength in the neighborhood.