From time to time, we post on houses as they are being restored and brought back to life. In 2017, an impressive duel-porch renovation was underway at The Greenwood Apartments (242 Bryant Street) and The Linden Apartments (246 Bryant Street). As I walked past these residences the other day, I realized that I had never posted the final, completed work. For some reason, the remaining “final touch” repairs took longer than I expected, and the project fell off my editorial radar. But as I passed by this last time, I knew that I had to give a ‘shout out’ to the owners, who did such a wonderful job refurbishing these beauties.
The apartments are located across the way from Sinatra @ Co’s new anchor development project at Elmwood and Bryant, called ‘The Pardee‘ at Elmwood Crossing. Some day, people will forget that this part of Elmwood had sunk lower than other parts of the street. With a large underutilized corner parking lot, a vacant hospital, Rite Aid (still there), empty storefronts along the 500 Block… and don’t forget that there was once a Kentucky Fried Chicken where the Bean Bastard building now stands. And soon, we will be seeing signs of development life at the Annex, Folwell, and Barton’s Crossing, starting with the reno of the circa 1912 former hospital buildings (historic reuse project closest to Elmwood Avenue – see inset).
Not to mention that there are now a couple of new restaurant concepts underway, with the Buffalo Kitchen Club and One Perfect Pour. Those businesses will join Big Mood and Thin Man Brewery (still relatively new additions), to round out the offerings in this neighborhood. And we can’t forget Schneider Development’s mixed-use Musical Suites, which is another significant project underway.
It’s too bad that the pandemic caused Duff’s to pull the plug on the old Casa di Pizza – that would have been the icing on the cake for this immediate neighborhood that is finally seeing so much exciting activity, from glorious porch restorations to multi-storey new builds. It’s been a long time coming, but the momentum is finally building thanks to a concerted effort by numerous parties.