The design that was approved by the Victorian Village Commission in 2017.

The Victorian Village Commission approved two major Short North developments at its March 9 meeting – Kaufman Development’s nine-story mixed-use project between West Second and Price Avenues, and the Pizzuti Companies’ two-building project on West First Avenue.

The projects were approved with conditions, meaning that both developers will have to return to the commission for a final sign-off. With the yes-votes on the overall massing and layout, though, the projects will now start to move forward.

The Pizzuti Companies first proposed a 12-story mixed-use building to replace the Grandview Mercantile building in June of last year. That has since morphed into a two-building concept, with a four-story office and retail building on the corner and a six-story residential building immediately to the west.

The Kaufman proposal, which saves a portion of the former IBEW building on West Second, was first brought to the commission in August.

Kaufman CEO and Founder Brett Kaufman said that the latest iteration of the design is not significantly different from the one presented to the commission in February, but changes were made to the Price Avenue side “to help the architecture appear more polished.”

“The timeline is late this year/early next for construction start,” added Kaufman. “We are focused on drawing documentation and will start to pre-sell condos and lease the office and retail space this summer.”