Readers have tipped us off about more construction in Point Breeze, all within earshot of the American Sardine Bar. You may recall a few weeks ago, we pointed out a couple of homes under construction directly across the street from the bar, and speculated that this new business could spark a building boom on the surrounding blocks. Are we spotting a trend, or is something else going on here?

1714 Ellsworth St. was purchased by Woodblock Investments LLC in March, for $65K. Like a property a few blocks to the north that we noticed recently, the developer has preserved the cornice while demoing the rest of the home. We couldn’t say exactly what the developer is planning here, but a two or three story, market rate house seems like a safe bet.

Check the cornice

Just down the street, 1730 Ellsworth St. is rising from the ground up. Similarly, 1737 Federal St. is fully framed out. If you stand on the future front stoop of 1737 Federal St., you can actually see the American Sardine Bar down the street. But these two homes are not like the others we’ve recently discussed. Both are owned by Community Ventures and both are government subsidized new construction affordable housing.

1730 Ellsworth St.

1737 Federal St.

Looking west on Federal St., Sardine Bar in the distance

According to the Community Ventures website, 1730 Ellsworth St. will be a 3 bedroom home, listed for $150K. 1737 Federal St. will be more or less the same house, and will be listed for $225K. Could these homes and others like them in the neighborhood have an unintended negative impact on the home values of people who have paid $300K plus for their homes?

So it seems that the construction of these two homes has absolutely nothing to do with the American Sardine Bar. They were going up whether the bar opened or the space remained the blighted, shuttered Wander Inn. Apparently, our premise was 33% correct today. And hey, that’ll get you into the Hall of Fame, right?