From time to time we come across an intersection and write about one development related story, only to find that a few months later that same intersection or very close to it becomes a hotbed of redevelopment stories.
One of our recent kicks is 6th & Thompson. While the northeast corner contains one of the cooler looking buildings in the neighborhood, both the northwest and southwest corners are huge vacant lots. Some of the lots on the northwest corner look like they serve as a green space for the neighborhood. While neighborhood green space is a beautiful thing, it’s clear that both of these corners represent tremendous development opportunities. Or at the least, one of them could be developed and the other maintained as open space.
As far as what would be developed first, our money’s on the southwest corner. Formerly owned by a church, the five properties that make up this large lot were together purchased last year by Thompson Street Holdings LLC. With a purchase price of $250K, one would have to imagine that big plans are in store for this parcel.
The northwest corner could be in for a similar or very different fate. 1300-04 N. 6th St. has been owned by the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit group that works with the PRA and is dedicated to improving the lives of low-income residents, for decades. The next two lots, currently fenced off as a garden but for some reason containing a dumpster, are owned by a resident of the block. PHDC or the private owner could easily sell these lots to a developer. Or they could maintain possession of the lots for decades to come. Who will do what here is anybody’s guess.
Right across the street, construction is ongoing on two triplexes, a project we told you about long ago. With this project, and another a block away, we think this part of Thompson Street has a lot of potential in the next few years. And with Liberty Square and SoKo Lofts poised to bring 500-plus new units nearby, it seems like it is only a matter of time before redevelopment aggressively spills westward.