Frangelli’s Bakery opened at the corner of 9th & Jackson in 1947, moving to the corner of 9th & Ritner in 1994. In case you’ve never heard of this amazing place, they make delicious donuts, and their most recent creation is the Franolli, a donut/cannoli hybrid. It’s a little spot which you could easily miss, but now you know it exists and you have no excuse not to go check it out. Plus, if you pick up a dozen donuts on a weekday, you might just become a hero for a day in your office.

We were seeking office accolades the other day (and some delicious treats), and on our way we encountered some ongoing construction on 6th Street, just north of Ritner. This block, the 2300 block of S. 6th St., faces the western side of Mifflin Square Park, and is a row of two story homes with the exception of a few vacant lots. Two of those vacant lots, 2242 and 2244 S. 6th St., are the ones that are being developed, with three story homes rising on the formerly vacant lots. In case you’re wondering how the developers are able to build three story homes on a two-story block sans setback, it’s because they’re building two homes are once. The code only requires a setback if there are two-story homes on both sides of a vacant lot. Since that’s not the case here, there’s no setback. And let’s agree, that’s better than the alternative.

In another part of town, we might not bring such a small project to your attention, but the fact is we don’t see a heck of a lot of development in these parts, making this project a little more interesting than a couple homes getting built in South Kensington. We don’t imagine this is the start of any kind of trend for construction here on the Whitman/Lower Moyamensing border, but as we’ve said for years, it’s always encouraging to see long vacant lots get brought back into active use. And whoever ends up buying these homes will definitely enjoy living across from a block-sized park.

Incidentally, Mifflin Square Park is overdue for some TLC, and in case you didn’t know there’s a community process that’s been churning for a couple of years to reinvigorate the park. In 2020, the Water Department will be doing work on the four corners of the park, improving the underground storm water management system and making various improvements above ground as well. There are many other improvements in the pipeline, with funds being a significant limiting factor. So if you’d like to contribute to additional park renovations in the future, you can click here.