April 21: Mid-rise praise | Soda (tax) dunk tank for Kenney? | Boutique hotel restaurants

At Broad and Callowhill, two midrise buildings are replacing surface parking and Inga Saffron approves: “Given the challenges of the form, the design of the new Hanover Co. project on North Broad Street comes as a pleasant surprise…Though they will never be confused with high architecture, the skillful composition, better-than-average materials, and unexpected design flourishes make them a handsome pair.” 

The Kensington building that housed Adrian’s pet store in four of the seven Rocky movies is being razed, reports the Inquirer, which was tipped by a Rocky tour guide.

Frank Olivieri, owner of Pat’s King of Steaks, has asked Mayor Kenney to sit in a dunk tank full of cola during May’s Italian Market festival to raise money for charity. Since the city’s collecting so much from Pat’s in soda tax revenue, Olivieri says it’s the least the mayor could do. Kenney so far won’t commit. “I think the image of soda-drenched clothing clinging to a middle-aged South Philly man’s body will do far more harm to soda sales than any tax,” the mayor told Philly Clout.

Are hotel restaurants making a comeback in Philly? Foobooz says boutique hotels are poised to save the form – Fishtown’s Wm. Mulherin’s Sons is in a Roost hotel, and CO/OP is in the new Study hotel at Drexel.

NakedPhilly casts its eye on a great historic building at 1901 W. Oxford St., once the Opportunities Industrial Center founded by Rev. Leon Sullivan, and now used by Sultan Jihad Ahmad Community Foundation, an organization focused on youth services and combatting youth violence.