If you asked us even a year ago if we expected that the 2200 block of Cross would be humming with development, we would have responded with a resounding no. First, it's on the wrong side of Point Breeze Avenue. And aside from that, it's too far south!
But we would have been wrong. As we've seen, developers are now building west of Point Breeze Avenue, with a bunch of homes now under construction on the 2200 block of Wilder Street. And every time we think that development won't push further south in this neighborhood, it seems to push further south. We should really just stop being surprised by any development at any location in Point Breeze.
The construction on this block comes almost exclusively from one developer, V2 Properties. These guys are getting busy all over town it seems, and Point Breeze is no exception, as they've already done projects on the 1800 block Fernon Street and others. On this block, they're building homes at 2226, 2241 and 2253 Cross St., all of which were previously sitting vacant. Check out these new homes:
You'll notice, all three of these homes have third-floor setbacks. It was only a couple days ago that we were complaining about the provision in the zoning code that requires these setbacks for any three story home built between two story homes, and we stand by our complaint. We get it that the developer is simply building homes that conform with the zoning code because there's too much risk going to the ZBA in this neighborhood, but the results are architecturally jarring. Wouldn't these homes be better with mansard roofs and maintaining the cornice lines of the adjacent homes? Can we change the code already?!?!
But wait, there's more! Also on this block, a worn down two-story home is being renovated and has gotten a new gray facade. In addition, developers have purchased a few of the vacant lots remaining on the block, so it's safe to assume that we'll see more construction here in the years to come.
We promise, we'll be less surprised by this stuff in the future. Probably.