When a reader tipped us off about a five-home project on the 500 block of Hoffman Street a couple years back, we’re embarrassed to say that we didn’t even know where to find the street on the map. Through the power of a quick internet search though, we discovered that Hoffman is a skinny South Philly street, appearing and disappearing as it moves east-west between Mifflin and McKean. We noted at the time that Hoffman Street was home to a population of exclusively two-story homes and a decent number of vacant lots. And we wondered whether the new project might inspire additional development on the block. Checking in now, it seems that it did.

You can see in the image above, there are several three-story homes on the block, and more are under construction. In the foreground, we see a completed home on the south side of the street. This home, which has already sold, was built by V2 Properties, a developer that’s built so many homes in this area that some are referring to it as Vineyville (after Vince Viney, owner of V2). On the north side of the block, four more homes are under construction.

From the architecture alone, you can tell that two different developers are building the two pairs of homes. We wonder, will the homes with the white brick and the mansards attract higher price points than the homes nearby, which sure look like they’ll reflect a more standard design approach? We have to think that the construction cost of the former homes will be a tad higher, and we’d therefore guess that the developers are indeed hoping for a premium on the sale prices. None of the homes are listed for sale just yet though, so it’s a guessing game at the moment.

Meanwhile, the project that brought us to this block in the first place sold out at the beginning of this year. Prices ranged between $328K and $338K, which are among the lowest prices you’ll see for (non-subsidized) new construction in Philadelphia these days. As we’re curious to see how the two new projects compare in terms of price, we also wonder whether the new homes will sell for more than the first round of homes on the block. Slowly rising prices for new construction would be a strong sign that we can expect more construction on this block and surrounding blocks in the coming years.