A couple of vacant lots are set to fade away on the 1700 block of Carpenter Street in favor of three new homes. One lot, 1717 Carpenter St., will get a single home. The adjacent lot, 1719 Carpenter St., stretches all the way to Montrose and will get a pair of homes, with one fronting Carpenter and the other fronting Montrose Street. Developers appeared before the SOSNA zoning committee a few months back, and recently got their approvals from the ZBA.

The two lots in question

Each of the homes will have a front loading garage. This is no big deal on Montrose Street, where no street parking spaces will be lost. Some would lament the loss of parking spots on Carpenter Street, but looking at the homes next door there's a clear precedent for garages on the block. Also like the homes immmediately to the east, the new homes, designed by Lance R. Kraemer Associates, will also look different from the others nearby.

Elevations drawing of what we can expect

The developer here is George Evengelou, who has owned the lots for almost a decade. Mr. Evengelou, who also owns the South Street Diner, recently did another project in the neighborhood, building on the long vacant corner of 21st & Carpenter. That was another property he'd owned for many years, waiting until the right moment for development. Once this project finishes up, we believe he won't have any properties left in the neighborhood. And his three vacant lots will have been converted into five units.

Construction on the south side of the block

Just take a look across the street, and you'll see the same story from another developer. Soon, the warehouse nearby will disappear, also in favor of new housing. It's not an unfamiliar theme in this neighborhood, which has seen so much new construction in the last decade. Soon enough though, there just won't be much left to build. But we're still a couple years away yet.