We’ve had our eye on a development at 1233-35 Bainbridge St. for over a year now, first telling you about the project when demolition began on a building that was a houseplant wholesaler in a former life. As the months passed, demolition begat construction, which begat finish work, which begat weekly open house events. The developer has tabbed this project the Le Fleur Condos, a name which evokes another French themed project that’s getting a little bit of press these days. Or an NHL great. Or the lead character from Dodgeball.

In the past

Awhile ago

A year ago

Last December

Current shot

We popped into an open house a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve gotta say, it’s a unique property. The building contains twelve condo units, most of which have a deeded parking space on the first floor. A staircase or an elevator takes you up to the second floor, which contains an atrium that goes all the way to the roof, with entrances to the units on each floor and big skylights. The setup had a hotel-like quality to it, with most of the units having both doors and windows facing into the atrium. Then again, we’re kind of sweet on Embassy Suites, so it worked for us.

The condo units are pretty good, with tasteful design elements and reasonable layouts. The top two floors have bilevel penthouse units with impressive roof decks, and the second and third floor units have smaller balcony decks. The units range in size from 970 sqft to 1850 sqft, and range in price from $379K to $659K. Several of the condos are already under contract.

Floorplans. Click to zoom in.

This corner has seen a tremendous transformation in the last few years, between this large condo project as well as at least half a dozen new homes. And there should be more development on the way in the immediate area, with a proposed 22-home development ostensibly on the way for the 1300 blocks of Bainbridge and Kater. While all of this is well and good, two large vacant lots in the area continue to hold it back from being as successful as it could be.

Hopefully, sometime soon, those vacant lots will finally get filled in, and this part of the Hawthorne/Wash West border will reach its potential. But in the meantime, remember…

Good advice.