Ground was broken Tuesday on The Ascent at Bridger View, a four-story mixed-use project rising on the former site of Al’s Auto Repair and the little house where the Olson family lived for sixty years. The development will feature 84 units, ground-floor retail, and a rooftop deck with sightlines to the M.

Studios start at $2,400. One-bedrooms at $3,100. Two-bedrooms at $3,900. Parking is $175 a month, separate. The brochure describes the finishes as “curated for the modern mountain lifestyle.” The countertops are quartz. The appliances are stainless. The floors are a durable vinyl plank that looks like wood if you don’t kneel down.

“We’re delivering a product the market has been asking for,” said developer Tad Summit of Summit Ridge Partners, standing in a windbreak of plastic sheeting where Al’s hydraulic lift used to be. “People want walkability. They want amenities. They want to be part of the energy downtown is becoming. This is that product.”

The energy downtown is becoming includes a restaurant that charges $24 for a burger and a line of people waiting to get into a bar that used to be a hardware store. The Ascent is three blocks from Main. It is also three blocks from the Mission, the warming center, and the encampment that moves when the city asks it to.

Darlene Hinge, who has rented a two-bedroom on North 11th since 2018, watched the excavator from the sidewalk. Her rent is $1,650. Her lease renews in October. “I guess I’ll see what the market says,” she said. “The market usually says something I can’t afford.”

The project qualifies for a density bonus under the city’s updated zoning code. In exchange for the extra height, Summit Ridge Partners will contribute $420,000 to the affordable housing trust fund. That builds roughly two units somewhere else, eventually.

The Ascent expects to lease up by December. The rooftop deck has a fire pit and string lights. You can see the mountains from there, provided the smoke isn’t too bad.