We were passing through South Kensington the other day and figured we'd update you on a pair of residential projects moving forward near 6th & Jefferson. First, let's look at the project that started first, on the southwest corner of the intersection. We first told you about this five-home project a little less than a year ago, when the property was sitting vacant, as it had for at least a decade.

Southwest corner of 6th & Jefferson

That's not an empty lot anymore. We were initially alerted to this project by a sign that had been posted to the property, advertising the upcoming construction. That sign indicated that these homes would be priced starting at $325K. These are three bedroom, three bathroom homes with parking which would sell for over $500K just a few blocks to the south or a few blocks to the east, so this sounded like a deal that was too good to be true. Many buyers agreed, it seems, as all of the homes in this project are now under agreement at a price of $350K. With development picking up in this part of the neighborhood, the homes still seem underpriced at that number.

New homes at Randolph & Jefferson

Speaking of development picking up in the area, if we swivel our attention to the east, we see that a six home project is progressing on the north side of the 500 block of Jefferson Street. As we told you last summer, this parcel was also sitting vacant for many years. It doesn't appear as though these homes are listed for sale just yet, but given the success of the project nearby we'd think that these homes will sell briskly and at an even higher price. It should be noted, the same developers own a 24K sqft parcel behind these homes, so look for a future phase of construction behind them on Randolph Street.

Former umbrella factory under construction nearby

Well, that's a lousier picture than we would have liked. We include the image above, of the former umbrella factory at 5th & Master viewed through the Cruz Playground at 6th & Jefferson, as a reminder of the huge adaptive reuse project slowly proceeding around the corner from these homes. We've been waiting for this project for years, and wonder whether the residential development around 6th & Jefferson would even be possible if the former umbrella factory was still sitting vacant and blighted. It's hard to know for sure, but you'd have to think that potential home buyers see the growing potential in this area as that wonderful building transforms into apartments.