We confess, we’d never visited the 2200 block of Wilder Street before last week. What we found when we trekked over there was a mixed block with some well maintained two-story homes, a few blighted properties, and a ton of vacant land. Our visit was spurred by a reader, who emailed us after getting a letter in his mailbox notifying him about an upcoming community meeting about plans for seven new homes on the block. Let the record show, at least someone was notified!
Checking the L&I Map, we discovered that a zoning application has indeed been made for seven properties on the block, all from a developer called Northeast Renovations. They’re looking to redevelop 2223-2229 Wilder St., four vacant lots on the north side of the block. And they’re also planning to demolish three existing buildings at 2238-42 Wilder St., all of which look kinda lousy at the moment. The developers are looking to building a three-story home on each parcel.
The developers need a variance, we’d imagine, because they are surely looking to build homes deeper than 35′, which is what’s allowed by code on these lots. We have a feeling they’ll get pushback from the community for seeking three story homes on a two-story block, even though that won’t trigger a refusal.
Also worth noting- we assumed that City agencies owned all the parcels that make up the large vacant lot in the first image, but we were off base. It turns out, the lots are owned by a mix of City agencies and private individuals, which could made the redevelopment of that large parcel a little complicated in the future. But perhaps if the developers that have patiently acquired seven properties on this block find success in their seven home project, they’ll push to acquire more lots on the block. We’ll see what happens, the first step will be getting approval from the ZBA.