A pair of properties on Girard Avenue have been sitting vacant and blighted for many years, and we're frankly surprised we never covered them before today. They've come onto our radar now because they're getting renovated, but before we get into that, let's look at some recent history.
If you visit 325-327 W. Girard Ave. today you'll see they're under construction, with a tarp covering new framing in the front. The buildings were tied up for a few months with violations, but it seems those have now been cleared up and the renovation efforts have a clear path to move forward. This is surely welcome news for people that live nearby that have had to stare at these buildings sit in a state of disrepair for many years.
Yeah, that looks pretty bad. But don't let that caption make you think they were in good shape before 2011.
The properties have been owned by the same party since 1993, and we know that they've been vacant since at least 2007. Around 2009, the blighted property at the corner of Orianna Street came down and you can see it's now just an empty lot. We're pretty sure the same owner still owns all three properties and is just now getting around to fixing up these properties at last. The two commercial spaces are each available for rent for $3,000/mo, and the right tenant could combine the spaces into a single large space.
We'd argue that the $3K/mo number is on the high side, even though this section of Girard Avenue has seen some positive momentum in recent years. To be honest, we aren't even all that excited about the prospect of a new business on the corridor, we're just pleased to see these buildings getting fixed up at last. Any thoughts on the type of business you'd like to see at this location?