Germantown Avenue redevelopment efforts continue in Mt. Airy

It’s one down, three to go for an effort to revitalize several blighted properties along Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy.

Work is now complete at 6513 Germantown Ave., a mixed-use building with 1,800 square feet of retail space at street level with a two-bedroom apartment above, rehabilitated by Mt. Airy USA (MAUSA) using grant money from the city’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

Next up is 6700 Germantown Ave., a 1909 former post office building, where work will begin soon to turn that vacant site into a Wingstop restaurant, according to a MAUSA news release.

Anuj Gupta, MAUSA’s executive director, called it “a very welcome first step in these efforts at further enhancing our neighborhood.”

Also on track for future rehab work are 6614 and 6651-53 Germantown Ave., and when all the work is done, a total of eight new commercial spaces will have been created along Mt. Airy’s commercial corridor. Three of the buildings have second-floor apartments.

In April, Mayor Nutter and Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger visited one of the sites to announce $500,000 in grants toward the work. Another $600,000 in grants, and some private loans and money from MAUSA, will go to complete the work, the group has said. 

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