Two summers back at 4th & Queen, the former Queen Village Pizza was renovated, along with a collection of buildings located just to the south. Though Little Italy Pizza 2 has already replaced the original Village Kitchen tenant, you can't argue that the renovation didn't improve the corner and the entire block.
Across the street, a similar renovation is now underway. For as long as we can remember, the southwest corner of this intersection has been home to a laundromat. Passing by over the weekend, we discovered it closed, and the building's facade under renovation. Looking immediately to the south, we spied additional buildings under construction. It appears that what happened on the east side of the street a couple of years ago is now being repeated on the west side. Most importantly, it looks like the weird roof-like awning is a thing of the past.
The Shipon Family Trust owns the buildings on both sides of the block. Several years back, before the properties on the east side were under construction, the owners attempted to sell off all their buildings, which included 13 apartments, 3 storefronts, a warehouse, an office, and a 6,000 sqft shell. When they didn't find any takers at around $3M, it seems they decided to hold onto the properties and fix 'em up. We would have to imagine that nobody on nearby Fabric Row is upset about this. We do wonder, though, what will replace the laundromat on the corner. Will it be a situation like the pizza place, where another laundromat fills the void? Or will some other business take over?