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| Sexploratorium and Philadelphia Record Exchange are moving off S. 5th |
Philadelphia’s South Street gets all the press, acclaim and songs written about it, but lately it’s the real estate immediately surrounding the thoroughfare that is seeing the most movement. This month, it’s a strip of S 5th Street directly off South where changes are underway to turn that block into upscale apartments, small-scale retail, and possibly a boutique hotel.
Properties housing popular S 5th Street shops such as Philadelphia Record Exchange’s used vinyl salon (618 S 5th St.) and Kali Morgan’s erotic Sexploratorium toy shop (620 S 5th St.) and several surrounding addresses were purchased by Zaken Realty Trust last year. They are looking to merge these properties so they can host upscale apartments on their second and third floor, and small-scale retail on the first floors of each of those buildings. Also in consideration for that block, according to Zaken Realty Trust’s attorney Richard Pressman, is a boutique hotel.
In May, orange License and Inspection signs went up as the properties’ new owners applied to Philly’s Zoning Board of Adjustment for relocation of lot lines. In the midst of it all, tenants in those spaces were notified that they had to move. The Philadelphia Record Exchange found a property in the Fishtown area, and have made a new home at 1524 Frankford Avenue. Sexploratorium and Passional Boutique (also on S 5th St.) will combine, move from 5th during the last week of June, and re-open at 317 South Street on June 29.
Meanwhile, another big move is happening across the street, as soon as Painting with a Twist, a BYOB art studio, takes over the spot recently vacated by the Philadelphia Bar Restaurant Supply shop that had been on the corner of 5th and Bainbridge and Passyunk for decades.
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| Painting with a Twist is moving into the space vacated by Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant Supply |
Photos ©Glamorosi 2013
Posted on Tuesday, June 4, 2013
