In Francisville

The Exchange Lofts building at 17th & Poplar is one of our favorites around town. The property was designed by architect John Torrey Windrim as a Bell Telephone Company exchange (see what they did there?) but sat vacant and deteriorating for several years. Thankfully, developers purchased the handsome structure in 2007 and

When we looked at a bunch of properties under construction on the 1600 block of Ridge Avenue two weeks back, we somehow missed another project that's finally moving forward.It was way back in April of 2013 that we first told you about plans for 1608 Ridge Ave., for many years

The story on the 1600 block of Ridge Avenue has been one of blight and vacancy for many years. But as nearby blocks, like the 1600 block of Ogden Street, have seen redevelopment, Ridge has begun to move in a better direction. Last summer, we told you about a new

We claim to be lots of things, but experts on the history of land division in Philadelphia is not one of them. So we don't claim to understand why some blocks have lots that are 12' wide and others have lots that are 18' wide. It isn't clear to us

While perusing the ZBA calendar the other day, we noticed that 717 N. 17th St. had received a variance. Looking at some older maps, we can see that this property has been empty for quite some time, since at least 2007. A few years back PHA built an unfortunate structure

As the years have rolled by, we've covered plenty of projects on Ogden Street in Francisville. Most recently, we checked in on several projects on the 1500 block. The 1600 block was previously a wasteland of vacant lots, but it has seen a bundle of new buildings appear in the

Okay, raise your hand if you've heard of Erdman Street.Nobody?Thought so. Even if we told you it was in Francisville, you would still probably be flummoxed. So let's end the suspense, shall we?Erdman Street!Erdman Street is a barely an alley, only accessible from the 800 block of Perkiomen Street. This

Over the years, we've been passing along news about various changes at or near the intersection of 19th & Poplar. It's almost impossible to keep track of all the new buildings that have sprung up, but a couple of lots have remained on the southeast corner. In recent years, those

A couple of readers have been wondering what's up with the recently created hole at the intersection of Corinthian & Ogden, on the southeast corner. We actually didn't even know about it until we coincidentally passed by the other day, on our way to snap photos of the nearly completed

It's been about a year and a half since our last visit to the intersection of Corinthian & Girard, across the street from Girard College. At that time, developers were just getting started on the construction of a bunch of apartments. Remember, this property was once the site of the