The Spring Arts Point project was originally conceived by developer Lawrence Rust over a decade ago as a plan to build a few dozen units on several large assemblages on the eastern side of the West Poplar neighborhood. The first eighteen homes came into focus quickly, on the block bounded by Percy, 10th, Mount Vernon, and Wallace Streets. In that same time period, the developer poured foundations for the second phase on the block to the south, but as the market tanked, no additional homes appeared for a few years. By the time 2011 rolled around, when we first wrote about this project, the first three homes of the second phase had recently gone up, with more to come.

And more homes certainly did come, with most of the block surrounded by Percy, 10th, Mount Vernon, and Green Streets filling up. In addition, we saw a row of homes appear on the 1000 block of Mount Vernon, with a half dozen more homes at 11th & Wallace. The entire project is approaching completion, with the notable exceptions of the SE and NE corners of 10th & Mount Vernon. A little over a year ago, we told you to expect a duplex and two more homes at the SE corner, and now those buildings are under construction.

When we told you about the SE corner, we also recommended keeping an eye on the SW corner, as an ugly warehouse was on the outs and a row of five duplexes was scheduled to rise in its place. Since then, the warehouse has indeed come down and the duplexes have, in fact, appeared. The buildings look like they’re finished from the outside, but we imagine there’s still work to do inside, as we can’t find sale or rental listings for any of the units. Still, they’re an upgrade over the old garage. And if you look down the street to the west, you’ll see some more Spring Arts Point units.

Looking again at the NE corner of 10th & Mount Vernon, it’s still sitting empty, waiting to get redeveloped. With the SE corner now under construction, the NE corner is the only section of the Spring Arts Point property that’s still in the queue.

The initial plan for this corner called for a triple-wide mixed-use building. That was also the plan for the SE corner, but those plans changed, perhaps because retail didn’t make a whole lot of sense at this corner. We have to think plans will likewise change when construction happens on the NE corner, because retail doesn’t make a whole lot more sense there than it does across the street. When construction finally does move forward on the NE corner, it will mark the end of a long path for Spring Arts Point, one that’s lasted over a decade. And not for nothing, we don’t believe there would be nearly as much developer interest in this part of town if not for this project. So kudos for the patience, Mr. Rust. We’re looking forward to seeing this project cross the finish line.