Development has claimed another victim in East Kensington, and this time it's a vacant lot on the 2400 block of Coral Street. This isn't our first visit to this block- when we last visited about a year and a half ago, we spied three homes under construction from BMK Homes and a duplex preparing to break ground on the corner of Coral & E. Letterly. All four of those buildings are now built and sold.
If you direct your attention across the street, the sight of another new construction home, this time at 2474 Coral St., quickly catches your eye. The home calls attention to itself in part because it's a three story home (with a silly third-floor setback) surrounded by two story homes. But it mostly stands out because it just looks so darn skinny.
The lot is twelve feet wide, just like the others on either side. But despite the same "measurement," the home looks much slimmer than its neighbors. And it's no optical illusion. When builders develop infill, like this project, the existing neighboring properties tend to eat up a few inches of space on either side. So while public record would say the property is 12' wide, it's probably only about 11.5' wide, maybe less. And if you take the width of the building materials in the walls, the interior width is probably closer to ten feet. It's safe to say, a very low BMI is probably required of whoever ends up buying the home, currently listed for sale at $340K.
Though this home is among the skinniest new construction projects we've seen, the construction of narrow homes is a fairly regular occurrence in this area. Just a couple of months ago, we covered a project two blocks away, with four new 12' homes going up next to three 12' homes that were built a year before. With lots of inferior lots in this neighborhood, so much demand, and buyers willing to take less space for less money, expect the skinny home trend to continue in East Kensington in the coming years.