Walgreens to Replace Office Tower at Wadsworth and Alameda

The city of Lakewood looks set to approve a redevelopment plan for the northeast corner of Wadsworth and Alameda. The plan would involve tearing down the current office tower and replacing it with a Walgreens. The site would also accommodate two other smaller buildings for potential further future development.

Of course, this isn't the first redevelopment plan for this corner. Until demolition/construction begins, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Christmas Lights in the Plaza

Rayonism Sculpture Installed

Here's the sculpture, the latest to be installed on Alameda as it passes through central Lakewood.

I very much like the hard, modern lines of it, but the scale is a little small considering its installation on the north side of Alameda-- a major, four lane arterial. Perhaps if it were fifty feet tall...

On the other hand, the scale is fine for pedestrians and bikers, and the north side of Alameda is also home to a stretch of paved bikeway. But if that's the case, I would have preferred for the piece to placed in a way that interacted with those pedestrians and bikers-- say, by having the bikeway split and go around the sculpture. Instead it's off to the side on a low concrete base, surrounded by bark. Hmm.

All in all, a nice piece of art, but I really do question its scale and location.

Businesses New to Belmar in the Last 6 Months

The economic news continues to be bad, so it's interesting to reflect on how many new businesses have come to Belmar in the last six months:

Target
Nordstrom Rack
Champa Street Burger Works
European Wax Center
Shining Stars Kids Dentistry
100% Chiropractic Wellness Center
Charming Charlie
St. Anthony's Health Passport

In addition, there are three more on their way:

The Rock Wood Fired Pizza & Spirits
Zinga!
Aruba Aloe

This list is just for stores in the Belmar redevelopment proper. If we throw into the mix areas outside the borders of the old Villa Italia mall, but still within walking distance of residents, we pick up a few more:

Firehouse Subs
Froyo Zone
Waxing the City

Now, some of these stores I'm excited about (Target, say, and Nordstrom Rack). Others I know I'll never set foot in (I'm talking about you, 100% Chiropractic Wellness Center). And there are some where I'd have loved to have seen a more premium brand fill the niche (Hmm... Zinga! or Pinkberry. Guess which froyo shop I'd rather have opening in my neighborhood.)

But I'm impressed at the number of new businesses opening in what are tough economic times, and in a very non-traditional location.

"Rayonism" Sculpture Planned for Alameda & Teller

The city of Lakewood's Planning and Public Works web page is a interesting place to tease out development information concerning the Belmar area, although often the information given is vague.

Today I came across a proposal for a sculpture on the north side of Alameda between S. Teller and S. Reed Ct. The applicant is the Alameda Business Improvement District. It's listed as case number PL11002, "Rayonism Sculpture Planning Case." The only description is "Sculpture in ROW on the north side of Alameda Ave."

Is this an additional sculpture in the "Arts Along Alameda" series? If so, let's hope it's more like Jon Stiles' inventive piece "Flow" (located at Alameda and Sheridan) and less like Kevin Robb's rather painful "Joyfully Dancing" (located in the round-about in front of the Belmar Library).

Here's the link: http://www.lakewood.org/index.cfm?include=/Applications/PlanCases/dsp_detail.cfm&caseID=14

UPDATE: Yes, this is definitely part of the "Arts Along Alameda" series.

Denver Water's "Use Only What You Need" Campaign Comes to Belmar

This quirky piece of sculptural advertising currently sits across from the Press cafe along the east end of Alaska Street. The newspaper stand on the right is normal sized. Very fun and definitely eye-catching!

Two other pieces are also in the neighborhood: a pair of benches in the main plaza, and two fire hydrants out front of the Belmar Target. The ads are by Sukle Advertising & Design, and are part of their work for Denver Water's "Use Only What You Need" Campaign."

Pedestrian Bridge Over Wadsworth

Finally a pedestrian bridge over Wadsworth... except it's going in at Bowles? This seems crazy. How many pedestrians actually walk from the Southwest Plaza Mall to the shops at Bowles Crossing?

What we really need is a pedestrian bridge over Wadsworth at Alameda, in order to connect up the residential and retail complex at Belmar with the Lakewood Civic Center's library, arts center, parks, and government offices.

How is it a bridge gets built at Wadsworth & Bowles, while the residents of Belmar have to play frogger on a daily basis to get across Wadsworth & Alameda?

KB Home Breaks Ground On Belmar Paired Homes

City of Lakewood documents on the development can be found here and here.

Belmar's Walk Score

My Walk Score in Belmar is an 82. Not bad-- it was only a smidge higher at 88 when I lived downtown on Capitol Hill, smack dab in the middle of everything Denver. By way of comparison, San Francisco gets an overall score of 85, New York averages 84, while Denver's citywide score is a mere 64.

Developer Requests Increased Density at Belmar

The City of Lakewood has posted notes from the Villa Italia O.D.P. Modification meeting last April 20th. Continuum Partners (the developer of Belmar) has requested an increase in residential and commercial densities on the Belmar's as yet undeveloped parcels.

The notes are here, and go to some length to explain that the city does not expect the new higher densities to ever be fully built out. Instead, it was explained that the change is merely to allow individual property owners maximum flexibility.

Personally, my fear when I first heard about the rezoning request was that Continuum might be seeking to reduce density because of lowered market demand. I moved to Belmar with the hope that it would someday truly grow into a downtown Lakewood, and density is a prerequisite for that.

KB Home Planning Belmar "Paired Homes"

According to the City of Lakewood Planning and Public Works Department, KB Home is seeking to replat Block 9 of Belmar to allow for 60 paired residential units. KB Home is already building these out at Stapleton, where they are trimmed with a vaguely Arts and Crafts look. For Belmar, let's hope KB Home goes with a more modern look (modern-- not cheap!)

At Stapleton, prices for these paired homes start at $211,995 for the 1159 square foot model and $236,995 for a three bedroom, 1667 square foot unit. KBHome.com gives more details, though nothing is up yet about the proposed Belmar construction. The word on the street is construction could start this year-- or could be delayed a year.

Urban Target @ Belmar

Our new Target store has been open almost a month now.

This article from the Denver Business Journal gives some stats on the store, which is the Denver metro area's first "Urban Target."

Particularly impressive (to me) is the ample parking for bicycles. There are also dedicated car pool parking in the parking garage. It all seems so green, but may also simply be a reflection of the kind of traffic increase this store is going to bring to downtown Lakewood. I've already seen the turn lanes off Wadsworth Boulevard onto Virginia Ave. and Alameda back up so much that southbound traffic on Wadsworth came to a halt for several cycles of the turn signals.

Traffic, of course, is part of living downtown anywhere, and in that sense the corner of Wadsworth and Alameda has truly become, at long last, downtown Lakewood.

As for me, I'll be walking or riding my bike to the new Target.