Last fall, we gave you the lowdown on Bridgeview at the Waterfront, a residential development of 75 new homes at 787 Swanson St., which was to replace a large overgrown vacant lot on the edge of Queen Village. The months went by, and the project went to the community. Then it went to Civic Design Review. Finally, it went to the ZBA in December, and the developers got their variances, despite the protests of some near neighbors. We passed by the site last week, and discovered that work is underway.
In case you don't remember, this project will entail the construction of three rows of homes designed by JKR Partners. Two of those rows will front an extension of Swanson Street, while the third row will front Delaware Avenue. Each home in the development will be about 1,800 sqft and will include three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Homes will also have a roof decks with bridge and river views. Parking is, regrettably, a huge aspect of the project. The extended Swanson Street will accommodate private parking for the development, and there will also be parking lots between the Swanson St. and Delaware Ave. homes. For some near neighbors, even this was not enough parking. Ye gods.
While we still firmly believe this project to be a significant step up from vacant lot that's sat here for however many years, we still think that the project could have been something bolder. Sites of this size near the core of the city are few and far between, and it seems like a real waste to fill it with low density single family homes. To us, with the caveat that we don't have an understanding of the economics of the situation for the developer, a midrise or high-rise building seems like it would have been a much better choice for the location. Or would the neighborhood have opposed such a project?
On the plus side, at least it's not a strip mall.