It's taken quite some time, but Ridge Avenue is definitively on the upswing. Over the last year or so, we've seen at least half a dozen projects get moving on the 1500 and 1600 blocks, with almost all of them replacing vacant lots. Importantly, we're pretty sure that every project is of the mixed-use variety, with ground-floor retail space and apartments above. Considering how long this corridor has languished, it was surely tempting for developers to push for purely residential projects here, but thankfully the table is now being set for the resurgence of the commercial corridor as all those spaces find retail tenants.
Scouring the zoning calendar recently, we were excited to learn that 1601-05 Ridge Ave., a member of the shrinking "Ridge Avenue Vacant Lot Club," would soon be redeveloped. Developers bought the lots a little over a year ago, and proposed a four-story building with ground-floor commercial and six apartments.
Considering other projects currently under construction just a few steps up the block, this seemed like a very reasonable project and we suspected it would get approved with ease. It was scheduled to go to the ZBA on October 20th, but the developers withdrew their application. Does anyone have any insight into what happened here? Did the project encounter some unexpected resistance from the community? Or are the developers simply changing their plan, perhaps adding height and density with the recognition that taller buildings have been approved in the area?
Hopefully, this is just a little hiccup for this parcel on its path to redevelopment. We'll cross our fingers and hope that a new plan emerges in the near future.