Looking over the calendar for upcoming ZBA hearings, we spied a little project immediately next door to another project we recently covered. It was just a few days ago that we showed you the newest phase of Spring Arts Point, six homes now gettting framed out at the corner of 11th & Wallace. Ah, had we only known then what we know now, we would have saved ourselves the trip that was needed to take these photos.
A little over a year ago, a developer purchased 1102-1104 North St., along with a trio of properties nearby on the 1000 block of Lemon Street. The price was a whopping $275K, which seems pretty reasonable when you consider the prices we’re seeing for Spring Arts Point homes but seems a little crazy when you consider all of these lots are hilarious undersized. You can’t quite tell from the photos, but 1102 North St. is only 12.6′ wide, while 1104 North St. is a mere 12′ wide. The photos present a bit of an illusion as they include a third lot, owned by the City, which makes the properties in question appear much larger.
In the coming weeks, this developer will go to the ZBA to present a plan to build two homes on these lots. We don’t see why they won’t be able to get approval for this project, as there’s a pretty clear dimensional hardship. As we told you, homes in this area have been put under agreement for around $600K. We wonder what very skinny new construction will sell for. Perhaps $350K? We see that this developer also owns some vacant lots down the block, so if they’re successful here, it stands to reason they’ll build a couple more homes on North Street in the future.
We have to think that this project has been spurred by development in the area in general, but especially by the Spring Arts Point homes next door. Those homes, by the way, grew about a story in the week in between our visits.
Though this neighborhood has seen a building boom in recent years, it still has a large number of vacant lots. But many of those lots are small and/or on crappy blocks, like the 1000 block of Lemon Street. We’ll keep an eye on this project, as it might show other developers that even inferior lots are worth developing right now around these parts.