Several weeks ago, developer Eric Blumenfeld of the EB Realty Management Corporation informed prospective investors that his company plans to add three residential apartment units to the roof of Mural Lofts (located at the intersection of Broad and Spring Garden Streets). 56 apartment units, almost all of which are occupied, currently constitute the property. EB Realty has also expressed interest in purchasing commercial space next door. Potential tenants include Wawa and Bank of America.

Blumenfeld, in affiliation with the Holy Ghost Headquarters Church, has also purchased the Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House up the street at the intersection of Broad and Poplar. The Holy Ghost Headquarters Church has since vacated the property, but Blumenfeld has big plans for the theater: it will ostensibly serve as a concert venue. Blumenfeld will announce the new tenant sometime within the next six months, at which point the theater will undergo a year-long, $35 million renovation.

The Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House was built in 1908 by Oscar Hammerstein I and designed by architect William H. McElfatrick. It is over 39,000 square feet and was at one point the largest theater of its kind in the world. After Hammerstein I sold the property, the Opera House functioned as a movie theater, a ballroom, a circus venue and a church.

Two new homes have been built at 1202 – 1204 North Etting Street in Brewerytown. The same developers are planning on building an additional five homes on the other side of the block. Last October, the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) denied a proposal to raze a vacant building on Stiles Street nearby and construct a duplex in its place. The developers behind the project, however, have appealed the result. Also close by, on Pennock Street, developers have morphed three lots into two. They plan ultimately to construct two new homes on the property.