If you’ve been to the 1400 block of Bainbridge St. in the past five years, you’ve probably noticed the numerous luxury town homes on the block. Phase One of the Artisan development consisted of fourteen homes on the south side of Bainbridge St., all of which sold for $900K or more.

Phase One

Physician turned developer Joe Williams is now in the process of constructing Phase Two, which will, once complete, include eighteen additional homes on Kater St., the north side of Bainbridge St., and Pemberton St. Of those eighteen, four have been sold, four are under contract, and the other ten are still available. We were drawn to this area by the number of properties currently under construction. We didn’t realize that they were all part of the same development until we looked at the site plan from the Artisan web site.

Site plan

North side of Bainbridge St., Kater St. construction in the background

From Kater St. Those two story homes are not long for this world

The Pemberton St. properties, looking south and east from Kenilworth St. Several foundations have been poured.

We can’t possibly say enough about the impact that these homes have had on the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. Five plus years ago, development was humming along nicely in the western part of the neighborhood, but the eastern side lagged behind significantly. A large scale, high end project like this definitely instilled confidence in smaller developers that the rest of the neighborhood would eventually catch up. Sure, we’re not thrilled with the inward-looking nature of this development, but we remember this block ten years ago and we’re not complaining, considering the difference.

It’s also worth noting that these homes add something to S. Broad St., despite being a half a block away. More people living closer to Broad St. means more life on this important artery for our city. Hey, maybe some exciting commercial use on the first floor at Dranoff’s Broad and South project will lead to more pedestrian traffic on this block. The Avenue of the Arts is still a long ways away from where it could be, but every little bit counts.

As this project now seems to be winding down in the next couple of years, we’re wondering what’s next for Mr. Williams? How ’bout Brewerytown?