This installment of Before and After picks up where the inaugural effort left off, starting at First Avenue and continuing north up High Street to Fifth Avenue. Scroll down for a look at some of the more significant development projects within that stretch, along with pictures showing what was there before they were built.
Donatos Building
A single-story Donatos restaurant with a large parking lot and a rear drive-through window occupied the northeast corner of First and High for many years. It was replaced with a fancier Donatos and a two-story, corner restaurant space that is now occupied by SeeSaw.
The Brunner Building
This six-story, 33-unit building at 940 N. High St. replaced two smaller buildings that were both separated from the street by surface parking lots. The project opened in 2018.
The Wood Companies Building
The one-story building at 941 N. High St. was transformed into a four-story, mixed-use development in stages. First, the original building was renovated – retail storefronts were added as well as a corner restaurant space that would soon be occupied by Northstar Cafe. During that renovation, structural steel was added to the building to facilitate a vertical expansion, which now holds apartments and office space.
The Castle
The eight-story development that replaced a city parking lot and a suburban-style White Castle went through several design iterations, but received commission approval in 2016. The public parking garage, new White Castle, apartments and other elements of the project all started to open in mid-2018.
Fireproof Building
The original plan for the historic Fireproof Building at 1024 N. High St. called for redeveloping it into apartments while replacing the large parking lot next door with just a one-story, 5,000-square foot retail building. The city and the Italian Village Commission encouraged the developer to take a bolder approach, though, and the end result was a four-story addition that filled in the space between the original building and East Second Avenue. The project was completed in early 2015.
Valencia on High
Home for many years to a one-story building that held the Ibel Agency, the site was redeveloped after the company moved Downtown. An initial plan to provide only Smart Car-sized parking spaces in the six-story building was later nixed by the city. The six-story apartment building was completed in 2018.
Luxe 23
This five-story development at the northwest corner of Third and High, which was first proposed in early 2017, replaced the building that once held the Little Dreamers Big Believers daycare and Yoga on High. In addition to 113 apartments, the new building will be home to three different restaurant/bar concepts.
The Jackson on High
Completed in 2010, the eight-story Jackson on High was one of the first large-scale developments to take shape in the northern part of the neighborhood. This 2009 interview provides an interesting perspective on the project, including the tidbit that the Victorian Village Commission pushed for a taller building on the site than was initially proposed.
