Northern Liberties continues to flourish and 2nd Street, its main commercial corridor, continues to improve. Though we've seen new businesses and new construction spring up on 2nd Street over the years, it still has its share of long standing vacancy. But one of those empty spots, 806 N. 2nd St., won't be empty for much longer.
Earlier this year, developers appeared before the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association with a plan for a building with eight apartments. That wasn't a big hit with the zoning committee, which wanted to see the number of units cut in half. The following month the developers tried again with the community, but still didn't get support. The neighborhood eventually came around about the unit count, but they remained opposed to the proposed four-foot rear yard, five feet less than what's required by the zoning code. Ultimately the ZBA denied the application in June.
Then something happened that we don't see too often. The developers filed a "Motion for Reconsideration" with the ZBA, who heard their case again in September, though with slightly revised plans. A few weeks later, the ZBA signed off on the project, which will rise five stories and will also have a retail space on the first floor. We don't know what they changed and how that resulted in a new ruling from the ZBA, but we'd be all too pleased to get some more info from anyone out there that knows exactly what happened here.
Meanwhile, another long-vacant lot on the northeast corner of 2nd & Brown has filled in with a new two story building. We last covered this project when it had just broken ground. Architecturally, it turned out pretty nicely and we certainly appreciate the multiple commercial uses over both floors. We still are a wee bit disappointed though, that the building doesn't rise a few more stories and include some residential units. Yeah, we're biased because we're not over the six-story mixed-use building that got approvals but never materialized here. But it still seems like a missed opportunity for a bit of additional density.