North 2nd Street has come a long way over the last couple decades, transitioning from an industrial artery into a vibrant commercial corridor, one building at a time. Over the years, blighted buildings have been renovated or demolished and numerous lots that sat vacant for quite some time have been replaced by new mixed-use buildings. At this point, only a few properties are still sitting empty or underused on N. 2nd St., and in the coming months, we expect that number to decrease yet again.

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Vacant space and a former electric supply house on the right

814-826 N. 2nd St. has been used as an electric supply house for a number of years, with the business occupying a portion of the property and a surface parking lot covering the rest. Sure, this is technically a retail business and for contractors doing construction work around these parts it was surely a convenience to have this place at this location. But for people living in the area and for surrounding businesses counting on the collective benefit of being located on a commercial corridor, this surely wasn’t the ideal situation. It should come as no surprise then, that the electric supply house has moved on from this location and its former home is set to meet the wrecking ball.

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Looking north. Better view of electric supply house and a warehouse we'd love to see turn over

We only have some hazy details on what will eventually rise here, but from we understand it will be a 72-unit mixed-use building that will be constructed by right. The size of the project will necessitate a presentation at Civic Design Review, so it will be coming before the community next week, and perhaps we’ll be able to get some renderings after that happens. In terms of massing at least, we’re expecting something similar to the building that’s currently under construction a couple doors down.

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Construction to the south

While it’s cool that the electric supply house have provided a link to the neighborhood’s industrial history, the utility of the building as its associated parking lot have clearly gone past their expiration date. The same could be said for the warehouse located just to the north, two images above. That building is owned by Tower Investments and could also represent a great development opportunity, were it to change hands at some point. That hasn’t been their MO historically, but we’ve seen a recent willingness from this company to sell assets in this neighborhood, so let’s hope that we’ll soon see this building turn over as well.