Over a year ago, we first told you about Carpenter Square, an eleven-home development planned for 17th & Carpenter that will also include a mixed-use development at the corner. When the developers, MR Scott Development and The Goldenberg Group, presented to SOSNA, they nearly received a standing ovation for their plan to transform a long-vacant block-long stretch of land previously ignored owned by the PRA. Check out these renderings, in case you’ve never seen ’em.

From 17th and Carpenter

From the south

Elevations

Pretty good, right? Design work for the project was done by Johnston Stromberg Architecture (JSA), architects based right in the neighborhood. Along with having some very unique design elements and two-car parking, the homes will all be LEED certified as well.

But as we said previously, this presentation took place over a year ago. And the presentation to the ZBA took place last April. So… what’s the holdup? Every few weeks, we’ve been getting emails wondering whether this project was ever going to happen, and we’ve consistently been assuring people that it would.

And oh, how good it feels to be right! Because today, we swung by the lot and saw that groundbreaking has officially taken place.

The corner

Fences and dirt

Heavy equipment

We’re so happy to see this important project finally getting off the ground. We’re guessing that the homes will be built in phases, and as you’d imagine we’ll be checking in regularly to provide construction updates. Hopefully, the homes will all sell quickly, and the same development group will get a crack at the other giant City-owned lot, right across the street, for a similar project.

On the other hand, there’s a certain charm to that giant, horrible vacant lot…