A reader reached out the other day, having noticed a sign advertising upcoming development on a chain link fence at the southeast corner of 6th & Tasker. 1601-1605 S. 6th St. has been sitting empty for a number of years, an unexpected vacancy on a block that's otherwise filled in.
But this property won't be sitting empty for long! We looked online to investigate the permits, but we came up empty. Next, we called one of the phone numbers posted on the sign and were able to connect with a realtors for the project. We learned that the developers will be building three homes here, and that the homes will have frontage on 6th Street. Given the orientation of the sign, we sort of expected that they'd front Tasker but that would only allow enough room for two homes and building three homes is almost always more profitable than just building two. We also discovered that the project is still in the design phase and will have to go to the ZBA for a variance due to the fact that the lots are under 40' deep and building by-right would create homes that are way too shallow due to open area requirements. On the plus side, each lot is 20'-wide, so despite the fact that the homes will be shallower than most even with a variance, they'll still have plenty of space inside.
This property falls just within the boundaries of the Dickinson Narrows neighborhood, which runs from 4th to 6th Street, Washington Avenue to Mifflin Street. This itty neighborhood has seen a smattering of development in recent years, but it's now being dominated by the Southwark on Reed project at the former Mount Sinai Hospital site. With the amazing success that project has seen in terms of presales, and the speed at which those homes are rising, it's no surprise to see developers look to build at 6th & Tasker, just two blocks away. The three home project surely won't encounter the same level of enthusiasm as Southwark on Reed, but we feel confident that the big project will prop up the sale prices for the little project and for every other residential project in the area in the coming years.