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KensingtonSeven new town homes in South Kensington, four on Master Street, and three on Mascher Street, could be the beginning of a huge project that could result in the construction of as many as seventy new single-family homes, a complete transformation that will pretty much create a new neighborhood in an area that was very recently a collection of underused warehouses.
This massive project is intended for the block bordered by Master St. to the north, Thompson St. to the south, Howard St. to the east, and Mascher St. to the west.
So you know where we're talking about
Corner of Mascher and Master Sts., in the past
The three homes located at 1353-1357 Mascher St., all of which were completed and sold last year, were Phase 1 of a development built by Greenpoint Construction. Three of the four homes at 140-146 Master St. are completed, and one has sold thus far. These homes are all listed for around $350K.
The same corner pictured above, with new and fancy homes.
Another look at the Master St. homes
Four more houses have been approved so far, next to the Master St. homes
According to Steve Osiecki of ReMax Access, the broker handling the properties, Greenpoint is an offshoot of Bart Blatstein’s Tower Investments.
Of course.
Who else would be behind such a large-scale development in this part of town?
Somewhat interestingly, the homes in question were approved for construction during a time when the local neighborhood association, South Kensington Community Partners (SKCP), had suspended their zoning meetings in order to regroup, reorganize and make their process more transparent, according to director Erika Tapp.
Tapp said during the past year she tried to reach out to various developers working in the neighborhood, including those behind this project, but had little success.
“Providing plans only opens yourself up to residents,” said Tapp, who added she understood why developers would avoid such transparency if it was allowed, which in this case, it was.
Still, Tapp said she thinks the Master/Mascher project would have most likely been approved. The warehouse that was demolished to make room for the new structures was abandoned for years and had troubled the community with squatters, drugs and at times bursting water pipes. Something needed to happen there.
It’s entirely unclear whether the developer willfully avoided the community in this case or simply followed the protocols that were expected of them at the time. Whatever was the case for the first few phases of this project, we suspect that the situation will change now that SKCP appears to be back on its feet. When Tower wishes to construct the numerous additional homes that will ultimately constitute this project, the community will get involved. And hopefully support- these homes should do great things for the neighborhood.
The next phase is on the way...
So much land, so many houses to come
–Lou Mancinelli
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