Charles Allen and John Weintraub at today’s groundbreaking. Photo courtesy of Erik Salmi/CM Charles Allen’s office
Frager’s Hardware made its home for almost 90 years before a fire gutted the building back in 2013. Since then, there have been many questions about what will happen to the property, and how extensive the damage was. You can browse through our Frager’s archives to read up on the timeline of projects proposed. You can also read about our community-wide devastation when this physical hub was left fragmented.
Last month, we heard that Frager’s has been sold to A Few Cool Hardware Stores group, which means that though no longer part of the True Value family, hopefully the store we all love will keep its local flavor and quirky character.
It is, therefore, very exciting to see that Penn11, which will bring condos and retail to the corner of 11th and Pennsylvania SE, has broken ground this morning: It is the beginning of a new phase in the healing after the fire. Councilmember Charles Allen was there this morning, and his office kindly shared some snapshots with us.
Charles Allen, John Weintraub and members of Perseus pose for the groundbreaking of Penn11. Photo courtesy Erik Salmi/CM Charles Allen’s office