I ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon on Saturday, and I have to say: the city looks amazing! We started in Center City and passed through South Philly, West Philly, and North Philly before arriving at the finish line. I live in the city and follow development closely; however, seeing everything rising from ground level is a surreal experience. While just about every resident and visitor knows that Center City and the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to it are thriving, even Mantua and Strawberry Mansion were looking good. I know that Mantua is seeing a lot of investment, but I didn't realize that there are very few derelict properties left along 34th Street. As for Strawberry Mansion, construction was taking place along 33rd Street and Fairmount Park looked nice and clean.
On a completely unrelated note, I noticed pre-construction activity at several properties along North Broad: I saw excavation at the SW corner of Broad and Girard (the former CVS lot), the SE corner of Broad and Poplar (the former gas station), and site prep at the NE corner of Broad and Mt. Vernon (619 North Broad, the former daycare center). While on Ridge, I saw that the last developable property on the 1800 block (Ridge and Ginnodo) recently had foundations poured, an elevator tower rising at the unusual parcel at 1600 Ridge Avenue, and that the Church of the Living God building at 17th and Poplar (1641 Ridge Avenue) is for sale, which should yield a sizeable building with frontage on Ridge, 17th, and Poplar. The building boom in Francisville and along North Broad is still going strong!