Progress is fascinating. It is one of what I imagine the joys of parenting to be. Name-brand architect Richard Meier has designed a building that ominously announces the arrival of haute city living to the ‘hood, or near it anyway — Hood Hing is a short block away, though I doubt that it rates the Corcoran Group’s list of neighborhood amenities.

A friend of mine, a new father, lives across the street from the pictured building whose condos start just south of $1m and top out in the $8m range. He grumbles that the building’s architecture — so divergent from the rest of the area — is an affront to the architectural flavor of the neighborhood. Ironically, the website for the building itself touts the neighborhood’s “enchanting mix of landmark brownstones, classic architectural masterpieces, and landscaped scenery.” One man’s treasure is another man’s treasure, I presume. Still, I can’t help but to stare wistfully at the edifice as I recall the neighborhoods I have lived in that have been chopped up and condoed out to the highest bidders — now, it seems, even while I’m living there.

Joined at the hip, I’d imagine uncomfortably if the two fathers have anything to do with it, young Sage will grow in lock step with the brainchild of an old master.