While this is more of a side dish than a meaty main course of development news, a three-story home on Washington Ave. just east of the Italian Market is getting a makeover. But when looked at in the context of other one-off improvements and developments in the immediate vicinity, the renovation of 725 Washington Ave. becomes part of a bigger story.

In the past

Over the past few years, its exterior had slowly meandered to a worn state. But the old facade has been replaced in recent months, and the ground-floor has been changed over to an office use. Perhaps the fact the property was purchased last October for $225K led to the renovations, which are also slowly happening at other spots in this neighborhood.

With the new facade, cornice continuity is gone

Nearby, a new building with ground-floor retail at 6th & Washington was completed two years ago. That property was constructed by Dentist Duyen Ngo to include a dental office for her and her husband on the first floor, plus living quarters for them above, in addition to other rental spaces. Right down the street, there were plans to renovate an old blighted building at 1107 S. 6th St. into four apartments. But this spring that building was demolished and construction is well underway for its replacement.

To make these smaller improvements and developments a more comprehensive tale, take a look at this project for a new three-story single-family on the 1000 block of Reese St., which is located just north of Washington Ave., between 5th and 6th. The little alley-sized side street runs for a block right here and dead ends into Carpenter. What’s interesting, is IDM, the same owner of 1031 Reese, owns a number of neighboring vacant parcels. That makes us wonder if whether Reese St. might see a string of new building if the first one is a success.

Many homes could be in store for this spot

Similar projects like 1031 Reese St., the dentists’ office, and 725 Washington are popping up along Washington Ave. between here and the waterfront, where Pier 53 officially broke ground on Halloween. So while this makeover and change of use from residential to mixed-use at 725 Washington Ave. is a small project, when coupled with other projects right nearby, it becomes a noteworthy continuation of an ongoing story.

–Lou Mancinelli