It wasn't so long ago the the 600 block of N. 3rd Street was dominated by a big surface parking lot and a few large buildings. Change has come in a big way, as today it's dominated by residential development. Currently there are three different projects under construction on the block, with more on the horizon.
Over a year ago, an old warehouse on the northwest corner of 3rd & Green met its maker. And for quite some time, the parcel sat vacant, waiting for new things to come. A few months back we noticed foundation work underway and after another short pause, framing began in earnest a few weeks ago. When the developers are done doing their thing, look for fifteen new homes on this site. We scoured the internet looking for renderings but only came up with outdated images of this project. But suffice to say, it'll be a big one.
Just across the street, there's been a ton of progress on an eight home project at 609 N. 3rd St. from Bellagio Homes. We somehow haven't updated you on this project since they broke ground in the fall of 2014, but as you can see most of the homes look like they're nearly finished. Remember, only four of the eight homes in this project are visible in the photo above, since the others front Bodine Street. The homes, with architecture work from Fusa Designs, have a nice modern look to them.
We actually told you about the nine-home project at 615 N. 3rd St. a week before we told you about the Bellagio Homes project but you can see the construction schedule there is well behind that of its neighbor. The builders haven't even framed out a couple of the homes just yet. But perhaps because this property has seen projects fall through over the years, we can cut the developers some slack. Here's a sense of what the 3rd Street-facing homes will look like when the project is done.
So yeah, at the moment this block is a mess, with construction happening all over the place. In a couple of years, once these three developments are finished, the block will have a gaggle of new families and a burst of new energy. And that's not even counting the apartment building that's probably getting started soon on the west side of the block. And don't forget the five homes coming soon on Green & Galloway. And remember, there's also a ton of construction on the blocks to the north.
We'll tell you this: the folks who own the Abbaye at 3rd & Fairmount and North Third at 3rd & Brown are loving all of this construction and the business it's gonna bring for years to come. Heck, all of the businesses in the neighborhood are probably celebrating.