A small corner lot at the intersection of First Avenue and Mount Pleasant Avenue sits only one block from High Street, but has been vacant long enough for a walking path to be worn in the grass by residents who cut diagonally through it while walking dogs and dodging crab apples from the overgrown trees in the front. The landscape of the lot may soon change, first as a construction staging area for the nearby Donatos redevelopment, and later with addition of new townhomes.
“We started looking at that parcel when we began working on the Donatos,” said Mike Fitzpatrick, President of Elford Development. “While talking to the property owner, it turned into a not just a facilitator space, but a development opportunity for us.”
The plan for the site is smaller in scale than some of the other projects Elford is working on throughout the neighborhood. The proposal calls for the redevelopment of an existing home on the north side of the parcel, and the construction of two new town home units on the south side, facing First Avenue. The proposal will go in front of the Italian Village Commission tonight for review.
“The two town homes are in scale with the adjacent buildings, but I don’t like that there’s a really giant curb cut on Mt. Pleasant for the parking,” said Italian Village Commissioner Jason Sudy. “Maybe they can narrow that gap.”
While much of the new development throughout the Short North is taking the form of for-rent apartments, Fitzpatrick confirmed that the townhomes would most likely be for-sale units.
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Site map via Architectural Alliance.