We like to start every year by making a series of predictions about what’s to come in Philadelphia real estate, development, and sports. As we’re now at the end of 2018, it seems worthwhile to look back and see just how well we were able to predict the future. Please remember, if we were perfect at divination, we’d be living in a much fancier house (when not hanging out at the sports book, that is).

What we got right (good stuff division):

Market East is trending in a positive direction and the early returns on the East Market project are quite positive. And Fashion District Philadelphia isn’t even open yet!

Port Richmond has seen increased interest from developers as prices have climbed in Olde Richmond and Fishtown. It’s maybe moving a little more slowly than we’d have expected, but it’s definitely happening.

Something finally happened to the Frankford Chocolate Factory, with an OCF affiliated group buying the property and receiving approvals for redevelopment of the northern side of the property over the summer. Look for groundbreaking in the first half of 2019.

What we got right (bad stuff division):

Washington Avenue is still waiting to be remapped.

The parking lot at 8th & Market is still a parking lot.

People are still parking in the Broad Street median, and protected bike lanes are indeed arriving more slowly than many people would like.

What we got wrong:

We still have no idea what’s happening with the NE corner of Broad & Washington.

The City has not made stucco bays illegal. That is a bummer.

The Historical Commission, despite additional funding, has not created historic districts to protect Jewelers Row or Spruce Hill, though they did designate a new district in Roxborough this year.

Ridge Avenue storefronts remain largely vacant, even as more and more mixed-use buildings appear on the corridor.

Sports Stuff (AKA we don’t know what we’re talking about):

We predicted that the Phillies would finish in 4th place, but they shocked the world and finished in 3rd.

We said the Sixers would fall short of the playoffs, but they made it to the 2nd round. Please don’t tell Joel Embiid we underestimated him.

We didn’t expect the Eagles to win a single playoff game. Pretty sure they won three.

Unclear whether this was a correct prediction:

We believed that a food trend would take the city by storm, and offered gourmet pancakes, fancy wings, or deep fried crickets as possibilities. Does martabak count?