Several years ago, a Citibank branch opened its doors at the corner of 2nd & South. This always struck us as a little odd, as Citi didn't really have much of a presence in Philadelphia. But perhaps, we thought, this location would be a first foray into a new market for this hulking banking giant, and soon Citi would be as ubiquitous as PNC or Bank of America.
Alas, it seems that this was not the case. Passing by over the weekend, we discovered that the Citibank has closed here, and the space is now vacant. A Metro Commercial sign in the window suggests it's available for rent. We would have to think that this space will be attractive for any number of new tenants.
This space sits on a very prominent corner that gets a ton of foot traffic. With South Street's bars and restaurants on one side and Headhouse Square around the corner, people descend upon this spot in huge numbers. About two years ago, the Lite Choice opened on this intersection's northeast corner and they still seem to be hanging in there. And with a Rita's a block away, ice cream seems like a bad choice here. There are also plenty of cafes in the area, so that would seem like a challenge. Any kind of restaurant that requires venting could have a real problem in such a tall building. So we're probably looking at some kind of non-food retail use. What do people want to see here?
In the meantime, if you happen to bank at Citi, we encourage you to switch. And if you really don't want to, we're pretty sure 7-11 still has Citi ATMs, for reasons that quite frankly escape us.