If you read this blog with any sort of regularity, you already know that the Point Breeze neighborhood has been on the rise in recent years. Along larger streets like Federal and Wharton, and particularly on smaller streets like Manton and Latona, little pockets of development have popped up on across the northern part of the neighborhood. And retail is starting to catch up to the residential development, with places like American Sardine Bar, Brew/Ultimo, and Breezy’s Cafe opening in the last few years.

Breezy's

A couple of years ago, we visited the 1700 block of Manton Street where several new homes were being constructed. Those homes have all been sold, as has the new home that went up this year on the north side of the street, surrounded by vacant lots. Those lots, we understand, will soon be filled in by affordable housing. But whether it’s affordable housing or market rate homes, this block will have been totally transformed in a very short period of time.

1700 block of Manton St.

Affordable housing coming soon to the north side of the street

Two blocks to the east at 1501 Manton St., we encountered more new construction in the form of a new three-story home. Atlantic Developments purchased the property in January for $47,500. It was most recently a trash and bottle ridden vacant lot. The property hasn’t come on the market just yet from what we can tell, but we’d guess it will soon be listed and at a premium price. Right around the way, on the southwest corner of 15th & Manton, a dry cleaners has sat vacant for some time and is now home to the whims and ways of graffiti.

In the past

Recent shot

Dry cleaners

Small improvements, parcel by parcel, slowly transform a block and improve its value. Just to the south of here, at 15th & Wharton, Rosario’s Pizza, which combines mexican food with the traditional pizza shop fare, has survived since it opened two years ago. Parlay that with the above-mentioned restaurants and residential development and you can clearly see that Point Breeze is headed in the right direction in terms of both residential and commercial development.

–Lou Mancinelli