5542-44 Ridge AveDelivered

A three-story, 50-unit building with ground-floor commercial space has been delivered at 5542-44 Ridge Avenue in Roxborough, adding a mid-density anchor to a stretch of the corridor that's seen incremental apartment activity over the past few years. The project, cleared to build in early 2022, rises on a roughly 25,000-square-foot lot and includes rooftop decks and common access structures. The building is fully sprinklered and was adjusted late in the process to accommodate a revised parcel description and minor layout tweaks, though height and use remained unchanged.

The site is zoned CMX2, which allows mixed-use construction by right and encourages street-facing retail with residential above—a fit for Ridge Avenue's auto-oriented but walkable character. 5500 Ridge Ave Associates LLC, the owner of record, acquired the parcel in 2020 and moved relatively quickly to vertical construction. The inclusion of commercial space signals at least some confidence in the neighborhood's retail fundamentals, even as most of the value here is stacked residential.

This delivery is part of a modest but steady wave of multifamily development in Roxborough, with 67 units either built or in the pipeline within a half-mile. Nearby projects include a 15-unit building on Pechin Street, a 10-unit on Roxborough Avenue, and a larger 42-unit building at 11 Shurs Lane. The cluster suggests patient capital is finding opportunity in pockets of the neighborhood that offer transit access and lower land costs than denser parts of the city.

With 50 units now occupied and commercial tenants presumably circling or already in place, 5542-44 Ridge sets a benchmark for similar assemblages along the corridor. Other underused parcels in CMX2 zones nearby—especially those with parking or single-story retail—may start to look more attractive to small and mid-sized developers hunting for sites where by-right zoning and manageable construction costs align.