JDL Development's redevelopment of the old Maryville Academy site in Uptown is officially a go after the Department of Buildings issued a full construction permit for the $121M project. The project, dubbed Eight Eleven Uptown, received a foundation permit in February.

JDL and its partner, Harlem Irving, plan to build a 27-story apartment tower at 811 West Agitite, a historic Uptown site that was home to Cuneo Hospital before Maryville Academy occupied it. Eight Eleven Uptown will include 373 luxury apartments, 30K SF of ground-level retail and 278 parking spaces. But its development comes with some controversy.

The City Council approved a request last June by JDL for $15.8M in tax incentives for the project, yet only 5% of the units being built will be earmarked for affordable housing, well below the mandated 10% under the city's affordable requirements ordinance. A market-rate studio at Eight Eleven Uptown will rent for $1,688/month.

Two-thirds of the tax incentives are being used to renovate the nearby Clarendon Park Community Center.  JDL and Harlem Irving are also paying into the city's affordable housing fund.