A few years ago, 17th & Page, just a couple of blocks from Temple‘s Main Campus, was pretty bleak. Sure, a few units were built near here back in 2008, but vacant land ruled the intersection for the most part.
Northeast corner in 2009
Northwest corner in 2009
The southern points of this intersection were (and remain) vacant as well. But the last year or so has brought some significant changes to the northern corners of the intersection, with more change coming.
Temple Reserve LLC, a medium-sized developer, purchased 2017 N. 17th St. back in 2009, and finally built a triplex on the site last year. From the looks of it, the property is currently occupied. And now it’s getting some company.
Already occupied on the northeast corner
Across the street, Masan Investments Inc has a one-off project that was framed out as of last week. This property occupies a formerly vacant corner lot, but it stands to reason that the adjacent lot will remain vacant for the foreseeable future. It’s owned by the City, you see.
Opposite corner
Turning our attention back to the east side of the street, 1500 Jefferson LLC has plans to build a quadplex on the northeast corner. This is, from what we can tell, another small-time developer that only has a couple of irons in the fire. As of last week, a foundation was poured, and framing is likely to begin soon (if it hasn’t already).
Closeup of the foundation
And don’t look now, but SPO Energy LLC has pulled permits for the vacant lot to the north of the occupied property we mentioned above. No work has taken place on the site as of yet from what we can tell, but look for yet another structure to rise at this intersection in the near future.
As for the vacancy at the southern corners of the intersection, we’ll just have to wait a little longer for anything to come to pass, thanks to more City-owned lots and a couple of lots that have been ignored owned by a non-profit for the past two plus decades.
Unfortunate.
Still, it’s good to see some progress at this long-ignored intersection.