New Restaurants Coming to Belmar

As of today, the Belmar homepage lists four new restaurants as coming soon to Belmar. Here they are, copied and pasted over:


Rocko's Tacos - Open May 5th! 
World of Beer - Summer 2013! 
San Francisco Sourdough Eatery - Summer 2013! 
Osteria Grappa Wine & Bar - Coming Soon!

Update:

As it looks like the Osteria Grappa is connected to the Grappa Mediterranean Bistro in Golden, I thought I'd look up user reviews of the Golden location. They're mixed, but take a look for yourself:  Urban Spoon, Trip Adviser and Yelp.

The webpage for the Grappa Mediterranean Bistro is also interesting. It looks like exactly the sort of place I'd like to see in Belmar-- upscale, with a menu that reaches beyond the typical pasta. The chef, Maurice Couturier, has restaurants in Snowmass and Aspen as well the place in Golden. The question, of course, will be whether or not his team can get the food and the service right. If they can, Osteria Grappa will be a fantastic addition to downtown Lakewood.

Little Pub Holdings to Open "Rocko's Tacos" in Belmar

Little Pub Holdings intends to open a bar/restaurant in the old Las Margaritas location on W. Alaska Drive. The name? "Rocko's Tacos."

Little Pub owns a dozen or more bars and restaurants in town, including the Spot Bar & Grill on S. Pennsylvania St. and the Three Dogs Tavern in the Highlands neighborhood. Little Pub also owns Don's Club Tavern, perhaps the most storied dive bar in Denver.

Little Pub knows how to open and run a neighborhood bar, and so Rocko's Tacos should be a good addition to downtown Lakewood, but I really have to question the name.

Rocko's Tacos? Is that the best Little Pub could do?

Really?

It sounds so lame. So, so... gringo. Even if it turns out to be the best neighborhood bar ever, it'll still be saddled with that name. Rocko's Rhyming Tacos. As if anyone should ever willingly buy a taco from a dude named Rocko. (Or a dog. Little Pub seems to like dogs. God forbid Rocko should turn out to be a cute little Chihuahua...)

So what would I name a Mexican cantina? There are so many excellent and authentic possibilities. Here are my top three:

1.) Las Quince Letras-- "The Fifteen Letters."

2.) La Boudeguilla-- "The Little Cellar."

3.) El Malacate-- "The Winch."

Cities and towns throughout Mexico have bars and restaurants with these three names, so they're hardly original. But they are authentic. And they don't rhyme. Plus, don't these names sound like great places to hang out and drink?

Damn straight they do.

That last one's important, because it's something the name "Rocko's Tacos" just doesn't have going for it.

David Weekley to Build East Side Town Homes

More good news... in addition to building on Block 10, it looks like David Weekley is going to put up around 12 town homes on the far east side of W. Alaska Dr.

Holland Partners to Develop Belmar Blocks 13 and 14

I posted earlier about the impending sale of Belmar Blocks 13 and 14, which are separated by S. Saulsbury Street and bounded by W. Virginia Ave. and W. Custer Ave. Now a report has surfaced at Denver Cityscape that the Vancouver, Washington-based Holland Partners Group has plans to develop two blocks within Belmar as multi-family housing. Could this be the plan for Blocks 13 and 14?

Here's the rendering for the larger of the two buildings, which looks to me to be situated on Block 13:

And here's the second, on Block 14. The road appears to be Saulsbury.

Holland Partners Group is investing big in Colorado, with a planned project in LoHi, another in LoDo near Union Station, and a third at the I-25 and Belleview lightrail station.

First Renderings of CityScape at Belmar

The blog Denver Cityscape has posted a rendering of the CityScape at Belmar development. This is the building slotted to go on Lot 37 of Block 12, between the Belmar detention pond open space and the Belmar Rowhomes.

Some great news is that the parking for CityScape Belmar will be in an underground garage, out of sight by neighbors, who might otherwise have ended up looking down from their balconies at a parking lot.

Also interesting is how the building will jut out slightly on the northwest corner in order to overlook the pocket park that sits to the north.

David Weekley Townhomes Planned for Belmar Block 10

It looks like the surveying equipment seen recently on Block 10 was a sign of good things to come.

According to Denver Cityscape, David Weekley Homes will be putting 22 town homes on the site. This is the perfect development for Block 10, which sits between Belmar Square Park and the KB Home development.

And it really is perfect. Why?

Well, although I was really impressed by the layout of KB Home's "paired homes" (a.k.a. duplexes), I feel the higher density of town homes is better for Belmar's urban aspirations. Without gaps between each individual unit, town homes create a more defined and aesthetically pleasing street space. It's solid, not jumbled. The higher roofline adds to this as well. When you walk down a street lined with 3 and 4 story buildings, you have a sense that you are in an urban room, with the sky above you as ceiling. It looks like the David Weekley development will add to this effect, which is especially important given it's location next to Belmar Square.

One of the great pleasures in life is walking the streets of a dense city center and then suddenly coming upon a plaza or town square. One moment you're on a narrow, urban street, and then-- bam!-- you turn the corner and the sky opens up, the sun shines down, and a bench or fountain beckons. It's the sudden contrast that makes these spaces so memorable. You can't see the openness until you're standing right in the middle of it. Hidden from view, surrounded on all sides by taller buildings, a plaza or park feels elegant and jewel box-like.

I've always felt that Belmar Square has the potential to be a little like, but only if the blocks around it were developed with sufficient density. The Lofts at Belmar Square, immediately to the south of the square, are 5 stories high, and already hint at how great a park space Belmar Square could be. It just needs the other three sides.

So the good news is that the David Weekley development on Block 10-- at 3 and 4 stories--  appears to fit nicely with this vision.