Yesterday, we passed along some new info about three projects under construction on the 800 block of Lawrence Street. And today, we have some updates about a couple of projects around the corner, right near a recently demolished warehouse at the corner of 5th & Poplar. As we told you on Monday, plans are moving forward at that location for the construction of twenty-one new homes.

Homes coming soon

Just to the south of that intersection, a project we first mentioned a few months ago has made considerable progress since foundations were poured back in February. Four homes have risen at 873-877 N. 5th St., formerly the site of a little house and a large vacant lot. Despite the fact that the project only covers three addresses, the developers were able to squeeze an additional home onto the lot, which would seem to be pretty good work by them. Looking at the sale transactions, the ownership structure, and the fact that none of these properties are on the market, we wouldn’t be shocked if they are offered as rentals, at least for the next couple of years.

Four new homes

Just to the north of the 5th & Poplar intersection, a much larger development has taken several steps forward since we last visited the site over the winter. You may recall, 913-931 N 5th St. was once the site of a handsome hundred-year-old building that was home to Live Arts before their move down to the waterfront. That building, however, was demolished to make way for twenty-two new homes which have now been constructed, for the most part. Plenty of interior work and some exterior work still remain, but the bulk of the heavy lifting appears to be finished.

In the past

Several months back

Current view

Another angle

Including the eight new homes a block away at 6th & Poplar, we count almost sixty new houses coming into being in this little section of the neighborhood in the next twelve to eighteen months. The redevelopment of Northern Liberties is no secret, but this kind of volume of new construction rivals that in any other neighborhood. As development sites in the heart of the neighborhood dry up in the coming years, we can picture a scenario where activity like this slows down some, but also stretches further to the west and north. We just hope that this continued growth won’t come at the expense of too many worthwhile old buildings, as was the case with one of the projects we discussed above.