It doesn't take an advanced degree in astrophysics to know that people want to live in the Washington Square West neighborhood. It's been true for many years, which is why it's unusual to hear about any new construction in the neighborhood. But that's just what's happening at 1309 Rodman St., a little lot on a skinny street just north of South Street.

1300 block of Rodman Street

A new foundation

For many years, this lot was used for parking, though it had been bank owned since the earliy 1990s. In 2012, developer Ling Zheng bought it- this is the same guy who's behind the stalled duplex around the corner on 13th Street. In February, Zheng sold the lot to another developer who is now moving forward with developing the lot on Rodman Street. It comes as little surprise that the duplex on 13th Street is again moving forward.

The Rodman Street home is gonna be on the small side, to say the least. The lot is 18' x 37', a devilish 666 sqft all together. It doesn't look like the developers went for a variance, and with the required open area, that makes for a home that's only 26' deep. We're not saying that you can't make a nice home at that size, and we're not suggesting that the developers won't find buyers either, but we're still impressed to see such a home get built. And considering the lot sold for $240K, we expect that the home will be listed at a price that approaches half a million. Wowza.