Monday, March 7, 2011

Amazing Transformation At 722 23rd Ave. N.

Photo and blog post by John Hoff

There seems to be some kind of powerful revitalization magnet buried deep beneath the soil on my block, and it is foolishness to resist its force. Mysteriously good things keep happening on my block (the 2200 block of Bryant Ave. N.) and on surrounding blocks, slowly-but-surely pulling the neighborhood upward from a decades-long downward spiral.

The house at 722 23rd Ave. N. is surely Exhibit A...

My first encounter with this house was in April of 2008, when I was making a report on squatter activity there and had a close encounter of the smelly kind which literally almost made me vomit. Actually, I certainly WOULD have barfed, but I didn't have anything in my stomach at the time.

The house stood empty for a long time but then, in the last several months, there were hopeful signs of progress. It appeared somebody was pouring more money into the house than one would expect if the house was being transformed into a rental.

As of today, the house appears amazingly transformed. I'm not sure if somebody is planning to "flip" this house or if all that work was done by somebody who plans to occupy the house themselves as an owner. Though I'm still cautious in my assessment of the future, at this point I can't help but say: BRAVO! You have performed a miracle with this house and, as a neighbor, I am grateful.


3 comments:

Jeff Skrenes said...

Not on the MLS yet.

Unknown said...

I didn't get the impression this was a "flip." Or is it? I thought it appeared as if someone was rehabbing it to live in. Or am I mistaken?

Johnny Northside! said...

Don't know one way or another.

Magic eight ball says, "Can not yet be determined with certainty."