Over the winter a reader living on the 1500 block of Brown Street emailed us, frustrated about the condition the blighted properties on Ridge Avenue abutting the back of her home. We had some good news at the time, that three of the worst buildings, 1526-30 Ridge Ave., had been listed for sale and were already under agreement. We considered the possibility that the new owners would renovate the existing buildings, which have, between them, about 11K sqft of space. But we figured it was more likely they'd demolish the old buildings and start with a clean slate. And wouldn't you know it, we were correct for a change.
The developers will demolish the buildings in short order to make way for a new building that will sit on all three lots. The project calls for a five-story building with ground-floor retail and ten apartments above. This building will be about 55' tall, compared to the other buildings on the block which we'd imagine are only about 30' tall. The project does need to go before the ZBA, so it's possible it will change somewhat as it goes through the community process, or it may totally fall through. But considering the collection of similar projects on the 1600 block, some of which rise five stories, we suspect this project will ultimately get approved.
While some may lament the fact that this new building won't fit in with the surrounding architecture, we would contend that it doesn't matter even a little bit. Mixed-use redevelopment is, quite frankly, the only way that Ridge Avenue can make a comeback as a commercial corridor. A hundred years ago, three-story buildings with ground-floor retail, where the shopkeepers lived upstairs, made perfect sense. In the current economic and development climate, taller buildings with greater density are the only way to go on long-depressed commercial corridors like Ridge or Point Breeze Avenue. So yeah, this building is gonna be taller than its neighbors. But it will thankfully include a large retail space which will hopefully attract a tenant that brings something new and different to the area too. Assuming the community and the ZBA support the effort, the building will contribute nicely to the growing momentum on this commercial corridor.