The four story brownstone mansion at 2010 Walnut St. was built in 1860 and was originally owned by the Wilkinson Sword Blade family. In recent decades, Eberhardt's Antiques operated out of the first floor, and images from Google indicate that many of the home's original interior details remain intact. At least on the 1st floor, that is. The antique store is now closed, as developers bought the building earlier this year for over $3M.
The building has been making the rounds for most of this year as the developers have worked through plans to renovate the building and construct a 7-story addition in the rear, on Chancellor Street. According to the minutes of a Historical Commission meeting from January, the developers were looking to build a boutique hotel here, with 40 executive suites. Some members of the Commission objected to the height on Chancellor, but the project was ultimately supported by a vote of 8-2. For whatever reason though, the project was abandoned at the ZBA in March.
Today, a variation of the project comes to the ZBA. The plans still call for a 7-story addition on Chancellor Street, but instead of a hotel, the permit application indicates that the 40 units will be offered as apartments. We don't have much info about what precipitated the switch, but we'd guess that the hotel operator decided against the project and quite frankly, a 40-unit apartment building should do quite well at this prime location. Since the building is historic, we're at least confident that the facade will remain, maintaining the integrity of an attractive stretch of wonderful old buildings. We would hope that, to whatever extent possible, the developers preserve the remaining interior details.
Perhaps someone who attended the ZBA hearing can fill in the details about why the plans changed and can also provide some insight into whether it got approved?