We were passing through Chinatown last week, and noticed a new building on 9th Street, just south of Cherry Street. We wondered about the project, so looked for the address on public record and came up empty. The property, which used to be a parking lot, is associated with 908 Cherry St., an old warehouse building most recently used for the "food processing of chicken and meat for wholesale and distribution." Remember, we told you about plans for a residential conversion of this property about a year and a half ago.
Back then, there were plans on the books to create twenty-eight apartments in the building, with ground floor commercial. Somewhere along the line though, the plans changed. The current iteration of the project includes the construction of a three-story addition and fifty-six total apartments. The addition has been added on, and new windows have been installed. We confess, we're disappointed that the new windows don't try to mimic the old ones even a little bit. The building now has much less personality as a result.
The building on 9th Street has nine apartments, and the permits speak of another building that's either hidden or yet unbuilt that will contain an additional nine units. If your mental math isn't great, that's seventy four new units across two new buildings and one residential conversion. That's a whole lot of new neighbors in an area that's already pretty congested, and no new parking (oh the horror!). On the other other hand, the local businesses surely appreciate this kind of density. Let's hear it for dozens of new customers!