Mixed-Use Development is Going North of the Design District

Just north of the rapidly densifying Design District, the historic Buena Vista neighborhood, is getting a mid-rise, mixed-use residential development to add to its mix of mostly single family houses on tree-lined streets. Along with SLH Investment Group, Groupe Terrot and UPSIDE Investments, Metro 1 Properties has secured a site on Northeast 2nd Avenue and 45th Street, directly adjacent to Buena Vista Café, to develop the 4-story Buena Vista Villas; what may be one of the first of many new erections to take over this charming neighborhood. Luckily however, that's about as high as they'll go. Zoning laws for the area prohibit any construction of high-rises.

For Buena Vista Villas, Kobi Karp Architecture designed a smaller-scale "boutique mixed-use building," a project Metro 1 claims will "respect and add" to the character of the area they call Buena Vista East. The project will have a level of underground parking, ground-level retail, and twelve residential condominiums on the upper three floors. The condos range from 1 to 3 bedrooms (between about 1,000 and 3000 square feet), with plenty of indoor and outdoor space including terraces and roofdecks with Jacuzzis and "suspended gardens." Prices range between $450,000 and $970,000, according to a press release.—Alexandra J Miller

· Buena Vista Villas [bvvillas.com]