Just a half a block south of the excitement on Fairmount Ave., a private garage will soon be replaced by a new house. On a quiet block and mere steps away from the Spring Gardens Community Garden and Clemente Playground, this garage at 1915 North St. seems like a fine candidate for improvement.

Ugly garage

Some cute houses next door

Community garden to the east

According to the zoning application, the owners intend to tear down the garage and construct a new three story home with roof decks and a (new) garage (but this time with a home behind and above it. This sensible redevelopment of an underused parcel in an area with fewer and fewer available lots is certainly an encouraging sight. Benjamin Kohl and Linda Farthing purchased this property last year for $155K, and should soon be on their way to sprucing up the block’s second worst eyesore.

The worst eyesore, of course, being the cinderblock wall and trash area for the Rite Aid at 20th & Fairmount. But hey, we can’t have everything in this world, right?