South Kensington has come a very long way in the last few years, but it still possesses entirely too many enormous vacant lots. This doesn't really come as much of a surprise- it's actually to be expected when witnessing the redevelopment of a neighborhood once dominated by industry. But today we have good news on this fine Monday! One of those aforementioned big lots should soon be on the outs.
Currently, the east side of 5th Street south of Thompson is an overgrown mess. It's only half a block from Girard Avenue though, making it a excellent candidate for redevelopment. Last week, developers for 1213 N. 5th St. came before the community in a South Kensington Community Partners meeting to present information on their big plans for the parcel. Without even seeing the plans yet, you can imagine it would be an improvement.
But it just so happens, we've seen the plans, thanks to the good people at Harman Deutsch. And they do indeed make for a fine improvement over what we see today. The project will entail 14 duplexes on 5th Street, 7 duplexes on Orkney Street, a mixed-use building at the corner of 5th & Thompson, and a dog park. The site plan also shows 45 parking spaces for the 45 units that will be created.
Perhaps most exciting about the project is that the developers plan to build a dog park on the site which will be maintained by the development but will be available for public use. Sure, with all those big vacant lots in the area today there's no shortage of places for people to walk their dogs. But as the community continues to evolve and those vacant lots continue to disappear, a formalized dog park will become an appreciated asset. And we've gotta tell you, we cannot remember another example of a development like this including a dog park in its plans. Very cool perk.
The project goes to CDR next month and then has to come back to the community before going to the ZBA, so it's possible it will undergo some changes before it actually gets in the ground. But assuming something like these plans actually comes to fruition, it will be a great plus for South Kensington and one less giant lot to worry about moving forward. Surely there are other lots in the neighborhood that will follow soon enough.