We made a trip to Ikea over the weekend, and we took Tasker Street to head back into town, with a planned detour at the Dutch for some delicious brunch food. On our way to enjoy some sweet Dutch babies, we happened upon a Demolition Notice on the 200 block of Tasker Street, on a building we’ve covered in the past.

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The building

It was over three years ago that we brought 237 Tasker St. to your attention, noting that the property was listed for sale and might represent an interesting development opportunity. The building sits on a roughly 9,000 sqft lot, and runs all the way to Greenwich Street. We noted that the building was once home to Baker, Carver, & Morrell, a marine supply company that went out of business in the 1980s, and we were bummed about the likelihood that anyone buying the building would likely tear it down and replace it with townhomes.

It took a few years, but now it seems that’s exactly what’s happening. Well, that’s actually speculation, as the demo permits are the only permits that have been pulled thus far. But why else would this building be coming down? We believe it’s only a question of how many homes will be built and how the developers will lay them out. For the answer to those questions, stay tuned.

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Still nothing doing across the street

Speaking of things to stay tuned about, we noticed that there’s still nothing happening at the former auto garage across the street, which was purchased by developers in the summer of 2014. Looking at the Zoning Archive, we see plans for a by-right project with three homes with 2-car parking and the reuse of an existing two-story building into another home. We’d have expected more density here, but perhaps the developers ran into an issue because the property is zoned for single family use. That would certainly explain why they’re opting for a by-right project. As for when it will actually get started, your guess is as good as ours.

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Huge home on the block

And just one more thing, while we’re on the subject of density. You may recall, a few years back, we saw two huge homes get built on a roughly 12,000 sqft lot, next door to the warehouse that will soon get demolished. This parcel could have accommodated a dozen homes, with frontage on both Greenwich and Tasker Streets. As the folks living here are clearly in their “forever homes,” we imagine they’ll have plenty to say about whatever happens with the property next door. By right, the developers can build six homes without parking, but we’d have to think they’d want to build something a little more ambitious, ideally with parking. Seems like this could be a stressful negotiation with the neighbors and the rest of the community.