Developer Proposes 34-Unit Market-Rate Apartment Building Next to Hollins Market

A developer is pursuing plans to build a 34-unit, market-rate apartment building adjacent to Hollins Market, a project that would add 34 new rental units to the blocks surrounding the historic market and mark some of the first new-construction residential development in the immediate neighborhood if approved.

Details of the proposal emerged on February 17, 2026, when the project outline described a five- to six-story apartment structure sited directly next to Hollins Market. The proposal specifies market-rate units only, meaning none of the 34 apartments are identified as income-restricted in the current plan. The site sits within the footprint that has seen little new residential construction in recent years.

The developer is actively pursuing approvals and design reviews required to move the project forward; the plan remains subject to municipal permitting and any local review processes that govern construction near Hollins Market. If permits are granted, construction would represent a tangible change in housing supply on the market block that includes Hollins Market, increasing the local residential inventory by 34 units.

Hollins Market is a named local institution and the proposed building’s adjacency raises concrete questions about neighborhood density, street-level activity, and parking demand on the surrounding streets. The proposal distinguishes itself from rehabilitation or conversion projects by being new construction directly next to the market building rather than adaptive reuse of existing housing stock.

For neighbors tracking development in the area, the key figures are the 34 market-rate units and the immediate proximity to Hollins Market; those two specifics define what would change on the ground if the project clears the city’s review process. The developer’s pursuit of approvals as of February 17, 2026 sets a timeline for when residents and city officials will need to weigh the trade-offs of adding new market-rate housing on a block that has not seen comparable new residential construction in recent memory.