Six homes to go up behind Whole Foods

A stretch of three empty lots and one home site on Northeast 14th Avenue just south of Beech and behind Whole Foods market have been rezoned as R-2.5 (2,500-square-foot lots) in preparation for development
into eight new single-family homes. Some could be ready for occupancy as early as fall.

Firenze Development Inc. owner and builder Peter Kusyk has met with Sabin’s Land Use and Transportation Committee as well as the Sabin Community Association’s Board to discuss his plans for building six homes on three of the former R-5 (5,000-square-foot) lots, which he purchased between August 2012 and September 2013. Kusyk says older homes on those lots were in “a definite state of disarray,” and he had them torn down.

Kusyk’s six lots will be the first phase of the eight-lot subdivision he is in the process of having platted under the proposed name of Lincoln Heights Estates. The remaining two R-2.5 lots, at the southwest corner of 14th and Beech, are occupied by a single-family home, which is being rented. The property owner also had her former R-5 lot rezoned for future development into two smaller lots.

Kusyk expects to begin building sometime this spring and may put up two homes at a time. Homes are expected to take between five and six months to complete. Exteriors will blend with the surrounding homes
and should look similar to a home Kusyk recently built at 4515 N.E. 14th  Ave, except the six new homes will have a narrower street frontage.

Prices for each of the six new three-level, 2,580-square-foot homes could range in the mid-$500,000s, depending on market value at the time of sale, Kusyk explains. Homes will include a garage on the bottom floor with storage and wine cellar. The main floor will contain living areas, and the top floor will have bedrooms and baths. Rooms will have detailed woodworking and built-ins consistent with the area’s older homes. Hardwood, tile and stone will cover floors, and amenities will include fireplaces, stainless appliances and stone countertops. For more information on the proposed development, contact Kusyk at peter@peterkusyk.com.

“The Land Use & Transportation Committee has been very encouraged by Mr. Kusyk’s willingness to talk to the SCA about his plans for the lots,” says committee Chair Rachel Lee. “We supported his successful effort to rezone these lots because we believe that higher density development at this location will make efficient use of land that is close to a neighborhood commercial center, served by two bus lines, and is very compatible
with pedestrian and bicycle transportation.”

The homes on NE 14th will look similar to this one