Geico Building Demolished

The Geico Building is gone. I was surprised how different the intersection of Wadsworth and Alameda looks without it, even though it was set back behind a large surface parking lot and did little to contribute to a defined streetscape. Work is supposed to begin shortly on the new Walgreens and Key Bank.

The plans call for the Walgreens to sit close to the street corner, with parking behind and to one side, which should create a strongly-defined street wall.

Now, any chance the demolition guys could take out the Olive Garden on the north side of the street before they finish up?

Festival Italiano 2012

Cooler weather made for a really nice Italian Festival this year in Belmar. The sky was clear, but it felt like fall. The shade trees along Alaska St. and Teller St. have grown and filled out in the last seven years as well.

There also seemed to be a noticeable improvement in the quality of the street food. Marco's Coal Fired Pizza was a good example of this. Lines were long at their booth, but their pies were head and shoulders above the other vendors. Dolce Sicilia, my favorite north Denver Italian bakery, was also present.

 As always, there were big crowds to watch the flag throwers, the Bocce tournament, and lots of kids stomping grapes. It's a big event, with lots to see and do.

Living in Belmar, I didn't feel the need to get out and do everything at once. Instead, it's nice being able to wander over, grab a coffee and a bite to eat, then come back again later in the day to listen to some live music and sip a glass of wine.

Walking to a Concert in Belmar Park

 

When I used to live in downtown Denver, one of the great things was being able to walk to concerts-- there was the Fillmore Auditorium, the Ogden, even the Pepsi Center, where I saw a particularly good performance by U2.

U2 won't be playing in Lakewood anytime soon, but I'm not nearly as interested in rock music as I used to be.

Walking to concerts is still a possibility, however, as it turns out there's a fantastic summer concert series in Belmar Park, put on each year by the city of Lakewood. The bands this year include bluegrass, alt-country, soul, and Celtic. I went to see the bluegrass band Harpeth Rising last week.

The outdoor amphitheater where they played is just a couple of blocks from downtown Belmar, on the west side of Wadsworth, so no driving was involved. My family and I packed a picnic dinner and a blanket, walked over, and found a spot on the grass. We listened to the music and watched the sun go down. It was a blast!

Roosters Men's Grooming Center Coming to Belmar Block 5

Work is ongoing in this vacant space under the Whole Foods parking lot. A sign in the window of 455 S. Vance Street lists RG2 Grooming #2 as the tenet, but it appears this will be home to a Roosters Men's Grooming Center. 

Sounds great. One little critique: their website lists this location as in the "Belmar Mall." 

Please, no. 

 

Fusion Federation Opening in Belmar

Fusion Federation, a fashion retailer specializing in women's clothing, has a sign up in an empty Belmar storefront on Alaska Drive. It looks like the plan is to open in August.

From the look of their webpage, their clothes are fashion forward (and to my eye, a little bit Goth), with prices just a bit above Forever 21 or H&M. 

Belmar Sign at Alameda and Wadsworth

I noticed a while back that Continuum had requested a replatting of Belmar Block 1 to shrink the size of Lot 1. It looks like this was a prelude to putting in a sign on the corner of Wadsworth and Alameda, which the corner certainly needs. Of course, what I would like to see is a building on that corner (and not a Best Buy parking lot), but a big, bold sign would be a start.

Work is now underway on the sign, as you can see in this photo:

Update: Here's a photo of the finished work. The sign pulses from blue to orange, but in a generally good way. It's not as tall as I'd have expected, but it works.

Las Margaritas Restaurant Closes

A sign in the door says the Belmar location of Las Margaritas is closed for good.

This is the second Mexican restaurant to not make it in Belmar, following the departure several years ago of the upscale Chama.

Chama had tasty food but absolutely lousy service. Crowds dwindled, which apparently led management to staff less servers, which led in turn to even lousier service. It was a downward spiral.

Las Margaritas always seemed to have a decent crowd, but there was never a waiting list. In my view, the food was mediocre but the patio awesome. It was a fine place for a beer and nachos, but perhaps that wasn't enough to pay the rent.