Though we’ve probably passed by on numerous occasions, the vacant lot at 3200 Baring St. somehow escaped our attention until quite recently. The parcel is a nice size, about 7,500 sqft, and sits across the street from Drexel Park, on the edge of Drexel’s campus.

A sign on the fence around the property suggests that it’s available for lease, and provides a phone number. We called that number a couple time but weren’t able to reach anyone to find out whether the property is still available and if so, how much they’re asking per month. If you look closely at the property, you can see it was painted for a parking lot at some point but we’re not sure whether it was ever used as such. If it was, it looks like it’s been a long time. Worth noting, if someone were to lease the lot for parking, we’re pretty sure they’d need to get a zoning variance.

We don’t, however, bring this property to your attention with the idea that someone should lease it and turn it into a parking lot. Instead, we think someone should buy it and build some residential units. The property is zoned for duplexes, and we’re pretty sure that a developer could subdivide the property by right and build a trio of two-unit buildings. These units could be rented to students or possibly sold off as condos. Though let’s be honest, just about everyone investing over here is looking at student housing, so the latter doesn’t seem like such a likely scenario.

Then again, the property has been sitting vacant for a really long time and the owner’s phone number is posted on the fence, so we’d think they’ve fielded numerous calls from people offering to buy the land. If that’s the case, and nobody has been successful, perhaps this parcel will continue to sit as it has, with parking possible in its future but continued vacancy seeming most likely.