A couple of years ago, Hope Street on either side of West Thompson Street felt pretty bleak. The southwest corner featured the backyards of a row of relatively new homes that face Howard Street. The northeast corner had a row of faded stucco homes, steps from the El. And the other two corners were vacant. Last year, Postgreen built a project called Duplexcellence on the southeast corner, which we covered at the time. Now, there's more change coming to this intersection.
We passed by here a little over a week ago, and came upon a couple of projects at different stages of construction. Right behind the row of stucco homes, at 1303 N. Hope St., a new mixed-use building has been framed. According to permits, the first floor is for parking and commercial use and two apartments are planned on the upper floors. This is way better than the overgrown vacant lot that was here before.
Speaking of things that are better than vacant lots, there are a couple of new foundations right across the street from the new building pictured above. Eventually, they will be Duplexcellence II, also (as you might expect) from Postgreen. Like its predecessor, this project is designed by Manifest A-D, and each property will offer a unique and creative two-unit layout. The renderings look pretty sweet.
It's worth noting that the construction we see now isn't the end of the progress coming to this intersection. According to permits that are in process, the northwest corner, where the Duplexcellence II sign currently resides, will also soon be redeveloped by Postgreen. In another year or two, people who visit this corner will never suspect its dodgy recent past. And that's actually becoming a pretty common story these days in South Kensington.