1223-45 Washington AveCleared to build

A twelve-story building with 375 apartments is cleared to build at 1223-45 Washington Avenue in Bella Vista, marking one of the larger residential projects along the corridor in recent years. The development, held by BW 2 Property Owner LLC since 2021, will rise from a roughly 40,000-square-foot site zoned CMX5, delivering nearly four hundred units alongside vacant ground-floor commercial shells and an accessory parking garage. The structure employs a hybrid construction approach—Type IA from the subterranean levels through the second floor, shifting to Type IB for the upper nine stories—with horizontal separations effectively creating two buildings under one address.

The by-right CMX5 zoning along this stretch of Washington Avenue has long permitted density at this scale, though few parcels have assembled the footprint necessary to deliver projects of this magnitude. The design calls for full sprinklering and standpipes, with underpinning work requiring continuous monitoring by a licensed Pennsylvania engineer, suggesting adjacency to older masonry structures typical of the neighborhood. An amendment approved in mid-2022 swapped the engineer of record and special inspections professional, a routine administrative shift that didn't alter the project's scope.

Within a half-mile radius, roughly 102 new units are either delivered or moving forward across five nearby projects, ranging from modest nine-unit infills to a 45-unit building at 614 South 13th Street. That cumulative figure underscores a wave of smaller-scale development threading through Bella Vista and Queen Village, but the Washington Avenue site stands apart in sheer volume—more than triple the size of its nearest neighbor. The project signals renewed investor confidence in the avenue's long-discussed transformation from auto-dominated thoroughfare to higher-density residential corridor, even as retail activation remains uncertain given the fit-out-required commercial bays.

For nearby landowners holding underused or single-story parcels along Washington Avenue, the BW 2 project offers a clear template: CMX5 entitlements can support substantial density without zoning relief, provided assemblage is achievable and construction financing pencils at current rates. Whether additional sites follow suit will hinge on market absorption once these 375 units deliver, but the groundwork for a denser, taller Washington Avenue spine is now visibly taking shape.