PHOTOS: Carpenter Square, Halfway There, Seeks Restaurant
In just about every respect, the Carpenter Square development at 17th and Carpenter streets in Graduate Hospital stands out from the mostly smaller-scale infill developments that continue to pop up around the neighborhood. It’s frankly modern in a neighborhood where traditional design still dominates; it includes a number of sustainable design features like green roofs and passive heating and cooling, features that, while not unheard of in the neighborhood, are still relatively uncommon; and it is designed to energize the corner it hugs with a building that combines residences, commercial space and a public plaza.
The project consists of 11 three-story luxury townhomes of 2,500 square feet, each with garage parking in the rear, and six one- and two-bedroom condos in an L-shaped building that contains 1,850 square feet of commercial space on street level and frames the 1,000-square-foot public plaza.
(The plaza will be complemented by a planned community park called Carpenter Green diagonally across the intersection from the development.)
Developer Mark Scott, a Graduate Hospital resident, says the key to activating the plaza is to put a restaurant in the commercial space — specifically, one with a liquor license. Although the condo building is at present no more than a mound of dirt and a hole in the ground, the commercial space is actively being shopped by Jackie Balin of CBRE Fameco to potential restaurant tenants, with a focus on young chefs looking to strike out on their own.
Meanwhile, the townhomes are well on their way to completion: The exteriors are complete save for some minor details like mail slots, and three of the homes’ interiors are finished as well. Interior work continues on the other eight units. Scott says that four of the homes have already been sold and that the asking price has risen from $625,000 to $699,000, with customizable options available.
The project should be completed by the summer. Michelle Ashley at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors is marketing the residences.
