You probably haven’t thought much about the northeast corner of Abrams and Richmond. It has been a quiet little corner for more than a quarter of a century. If you’re especially observant, you might have noticed a little activity at the property recently. Excess brush has been cleared from the yard and a rickety, old garage was torn down.
Lakewood resident Alex Winslow recently purchased the property, which is actually two lots (a single-family home sits on one lot), and he filed a zoning request with the City Plan commission to remove the property from a residential conservation district and change its use to a commercial zoning district. Winslow says he’d like to develop the property, which he sees as the “front door” of the Lakewood shopping district, into an “All Lakewood” business.
Winslow says his vision is to “create a signature vibrant public and retail space, further enhancing the sense of place of the Lakewood Shopping Center District at its juncture of the Lakewood neighborhood.”
In a letter to the property’s neighbors (see his Homeowners Letter explaining the request.), Winslow details how he came across the property last summer while serving as president of the Lakewood Neighborhood Association. At the time, he was on a mission to develop stone markers at various borders around Lakewood, similar to those at the Spillway or White Rock Lake. When the property became available for sale, Winslow says he contracted to purchase the property on behalf of the LNA, and he expected a wealthy neighborhood investor to provide the funds needed to buy the property and fund a “pocket park” on the site.
When the investor pulled out of the deal too late for Winslow to get the earnest money he personally posted back, Winslow says rather than lose the money, he decided to purchase the property himself. Winslow says he initially planned to remodel and then rent the existing house. Once he owned the property, however, Winslow says a friend urged him to consider requesting a zoning change. After discussing the idea with some neighborhood residents and real estate experts, Winslow decided to move forward with that plan instead.
Although the City Plan Commission will review his request initially, the change ultimately must be approved by the City Council. If that happens, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house currently sitting on the property will be removed, and in its place, Winslow hopes to build a Southern California-style commercial building similar to the rendering below. The prospective two-story building will include about 2,750 square feet of space, with about 2,375 square feet on the ground floor used for a commercial operation and about 375 square feet on the second floor divided into two small office spaces (see the preliminary site plan below).
Winslow says he intends to retain ownership of the property (as opposed to selling it to a commercial purchaser) so that he can ensure that a commercial use appropriate to the neighborhood winds up there. Although he says regional and national chain shops have approached him, his plan is to price the property so that a couple of local operators can lease the space. (Note that directly across Abrams next to Lakewood Veterinary Clinic, plans to build a chain restaurant — likely Chipotle — have stirred concern from some neighbors worried about chain encroachment in the neighborhood.)
Documents filed with the city’s plan commission lists several options for what Winslow’s property could potentially be; possible listed uses range from a library or museum to office buildings or a retail store or restaurant without a drive-thru: (check out Winslow’s Proposed Uses Richmond and Abrams document).
If you have questions about the project, Winslow says to contact Rob Baldwin at rob@baldwinplanning.com; Baldwin is a zoning consultant assisting Winslow with the project. The plans have been filed with the plan commission and are expected to receive an initial review sometime in April.
We’ll provide additional details in the next few days.
Artist’s rendering of a proposed commercial development on the northeast corner of Abrams and Richmond.
Proposed site plan for a potential commercial development on the northeast corner of Abrams and Richmond.
