The property at 238 Tasker St. is rather unusual, covering roughly 7,500 sqft and running between Tasker and Fernon Streets, with 61 feet of frontage on Tasker and a staggering 148 feet on Fernon. We first brought it your attention way back in 2014, noting that longtime occupant Phil’s Battery Service had relocated to 19th & Moyamensing and that a ‘For Sale’ sign was posted to the property. The parcel was already under agreement by the time we wrote our story, ultimately selling that summer for $700K. The next year, we predicted that the owners would build at least seven homes on the property, but didn’t have any concrete information as to what would happen.

In 2017, nothing had happened at the site, but we did see permits for the construction of three homes and the conversion of an existing building on the site into a fourth home. We were surprised by the lack of additional density, but recognized that the single-family zoning for the property prevented much more density and speculated that the developers didn’t want to go through the risky process of going for a variance with the ZBA. With these plans in place, we figured it wouldn’t be long before construction got moving, but we were way off base. Only in the last couple weeks has equipment arrived at the site, with demolition now ongoing.

The developers that bought the property in 2014 have sold it to new developers, who paid twice as much for the property. All the previous developers did was get a zoning permit for the subdivision of the properties, so the new owners still need to go through permitting. Incidentally, the plans now will mean the subdivision of the property into five parcels, each of which will get a home with parking. The easternmost home will be a combination of new construction and the existing building on the site, which should make for one of the more unique homes in the neighborhood.

Already, this block is home to some unusual residences. The home at 243 Tasker St. was built a few years back and sits on an enormous tract of land that’s almost as large as the parcel across the street which will soon accommodate five homes. Next door to that are two homes which replaced an old warehouse a couple years back, along with two homes on Greenwich Street. Sale prices for these homes are close to seven figures, which is a huge number for this area. We wonder whether the homes that will soon rise on the south side of the street will land at a similar price point.