In Northern Liberties, a new project is slated for a prime location once a few last details are tweaked. Members of the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association (NLNA) zoning committee recently approved plans for five single-family homes at the northwest corner of 3rd & Brown, across the street from the well established North 3rd. We recommend the mac and cheese or the burger. Not bad for brunch either, if the line at Honey’s is too much to bear.

The lot

Tastiness abounds across the street

This represents a quick move through the NLNA’s zoning committee, which is noted for its attention to detail. But we can’t blame them for wanting to move quickly- this well-located site has been a vacant lot for decades. It was purchased by 3rd Street Flats LLC in 2008 for $690K. As of last month, the property had been sitting on the market for a year at an asking price of just under $800K, and we’re guessing that a new party has purchased the parcel but it hasn’t been reflected in public record. A few years ago, permits were pulled for a five-story project on this site with ten apartments and ten parking spaces, but it seems that plans have changed.

Considering what’s going on in the immediate area, it’s amazing that this lot has sat vacant for so long. Just within a block of this corner, numerous projects are either in progress or in the pipeline. At 4th & Brown, an adaptive reuse project will bring nine new apartments to the neighborhood, and Foundry Court should be moving forward sometime very soon. Meanwhile, up 3rd Street, a condo building is slooowly moving toward completion and twenty new homes are planned from Atrium LLC. And let’s not forget the still-being-finished building near 2nd & Brown. The end may be in sight for Northern Liberties redevelopment, but it’s still a solid few years out on the horizon. But as lots like this continue to be transformed into houses, that inevitable end edges ever closer.

–Lou Mancinelli