Not breaking news: Point Breeze has seen an incredible amount of development in the last several years. As a result of this development activity, we've seen entire blocks transformed, like the 1300 block of Chadwick Street or the 2000 block of Annin Street. Until very recently, both of these blocks were dominated by large stretches of vacant land. Today, new homes have filled in almost all of the vacancies. But still some blocks have a ton of vacant land. Take, for example, the 2000 block of Gerritt Street.
By our quick count, we see about 18 empty lots and 24 structures in the image above. That's… not so good.
On the plus side, we're seeing at least a little development on the block right now. V2 Properties, who seem to be building all over town, are building a new home at 2059 Gerritt St., which was previously (and unsurprisingly) a vacant lot.
But we're not bringing you to this block to tell you about a single home that's under construction or to lament the number of remaining vacant lots. No, we've brought you here to share the news of a larger project that's in the works which will wipe out half the vacancy on the block. Recently, we got word of plans to build nine new homes on the western side of this block, but the project still needs to go through the zoning process.
According to a site plan, this project will mean eight homes from 2034-2050 Gerritt St., not counting 2040 Gerritt St., which is an existing home. It will also include a single home at 2045 Gerritt St., a lone lot on the north side of the street. All of the homes have refusals for open area, which makes sense because the lots are only 48' deep. In case you're wondering, each home will also have a third floor setback, even though it's only required for the one home on the north side of the street. The developers for this project have been slowly acquiring these lots over the years, mostly through sheriff's sale.
We're cautiously optimistic that this project will indeed happen, which would surely be a positive step for this block. But as you can see, even assuming this project happens the block will still have plenty more vacant land. The City owns some of 'em and developers own others. Look for development on the latter lots, especially once groundbreaking happens for the nine-home development. As for the City owned lots, well, that might take a little longer.