We were tossing a frisbee around in Chew Park last weekend, and while chasing an errant throw, spotted some construction on little Cleveland Street, close to Washington Avenue. We moved in for a better look and discovered that 1042 S. Cleveland St. had sprouted an addition. As recently as 2005, according to an old listing, this building was in crap condition. At some point, it got fixed up to the point of being livable, we think. But last September Tazaraz Dev LLC bought the property and proceeded to gut it and tear down the rear. And remove the cornice. They've rebuilt the back of the house, raised the height of the second floor, and added a set back third floor. Check it out.
Truth be told, they had us until they took off the cornice. Maybe they'll put it back on the building? Eh, probably wishful thinking.
Meanwhile, around the corner on skinny Dorrance St., look for a new home soon at 1021 S. Dorrance St. after some delays. This home will rise next to an alarmingly homogenous stretch of garage-front homes. There was apparently a need to underpin the adjacent houses, which explains the construction delay. The developers, unless the property has changed hands, bought the lot back in 2009.
These two projects further illustrate a point that we've made on several occasions lately. Demand for homes in Graduate Hospital is through the roof, and people are willing to live anywhere in the neighborhood, even if it's just a few steps from Washington Avenue. Remarkably, developers are still able to get a pretty good premium for these homes just because they're on the north side of Washington. Maybe we're biased, but we suggest moving a block or two south. Gets you a lot more house for your buck, ya know?