The Condominiums on Broadway at NW 6 and Broadway will include neon lighting to match neon signage throughout Automobile Alley. [Bockus Payne Associates]

Nick Preftakes, who pioneered downtown housing more than 20 years ago, is set to build the first new for-sale condominiums at a key gateway to Automobile Alley and downtown.

The Broadway Condominiums, set to open in mid-2018, would be the first residential offering to be built along Automobile Alley since the pioneer homes of 1889.

The $12 million project will be built on what is currently a surface parking lot at NW 6 and Broadway.

The project is being developed by Preftakes, who along with Mark Ruffin developed The Garage Lofts at NW 13 and Broadway in 1995.