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602 Leonard NW Supermercado


Raildudes dad

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In defense of the "whole floor" of planners (3, incidentally), we currently do not have any design guidelines in the code that would have allowed us to require a different design. We will, however, have such guidelines in the new zoning code, so hopefully you can breathe easier in that regard. ;)

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Let's see, SuperMercado has split face block, some of which is painted, some of which is not, out of scale lincoln log-looking turrets, virtually zero transparency to the street, gaudy color scheme, enough blank wall to park a billboard, and zero architectural detailing (unless you count the western store front pop up on the Leonard St. facade. Does this building even have an entrance? This building isn't even complete and it alreads screams, tear me down.
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This is Architecture? To me this building looks like a satanic version of Disneyland's Cinderella Castle. What a sham and what a disgrace to Leonard Street. I just wish the form based zoning ideas the city has been tossing around would have been ratified long before this rat trap of a building was even thought of. As for the architect that designed this travesty, I have this to say. "Enroll in an architectural school. You might learn something."

Over dramatic? Let's compare.....

4v67tdviz6.jpg

cvspharmacyio2.jpg

Let's see, SuperMercado has split face block, some of which is painted, some of which is not, out of scale lincoln log-looking turrets, virtually zero transparency to the street, gaudy color scheme, enough blank wall to park a billboard, and zero architectural detailing (unless you count the western store front pop up on the Leonard St. facade.) Does this building even have an entrance? This building isn't even complete and it already screams, tear me down.

CVS has at least a hint of detailing at the cornice, brick exterior, an arched walkway with a soldier course of brick, windows, a defined entry, and even a morsel of landscaping.

Call me crazy but I'd take two of these CVS' over another SuperMercado any day of the week.

Overly dramatic? I think not......

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This is a classic example of a designer (I'd be surprised if they even used an architect) not understanding that urban design is more than just "siting your building toward the street". It's like those bad new urbanist neighborhoods that think just by pushing the house out to the street and putting the garage in the back automatically makes it "urban".

Here's the door BTW, facing the parking lot in back:

502004162_d49e973160.jpg

And to make matters worse, the construction looks very shoddy. A closeup of the expert craftsmanship:

502004192_837e6532c0.jpg

I agree that it's a travesty, and much worse than any CVS or Walgreens I've ever seen.

I totally recant my previous statements on this board. Just adding windows on the ground floor is NOT enough to make a good pedestrian oriented design. :blush:

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I like the new subtitle for this thread. :thumbsup:

I've been watching this building since it first started going up. At first I thought it was a warehouse or some other industrial building that was going to make use of the railroad tracks. I was like "there is no way it can be a store, where are the windows?" I guess I was wrong.

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Jeez that is one unattractive building. However with that being said, the question of who is the target market for a Supermercado does come into play. I am no expert on the hispanic community, but perhaps there is something in the design of this building that fits their concept of how a supermarket should appear? Green, white and red are the colors of the Mexican flag and the roofline is vaguely reminiscent of architecture you might find in Mexico. I mean, check out this picture of the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. I quote, "The striking exterior by reknowned Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta gives an indication of what's in store for future visitors."

1151262959_62.49.27.213.jpg

I suppose, one person's "striking exterior" is another person's "satanic version of Disneyland's Cinderella Castle" (my favorite description so far!)

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We currently have design requirements in the TBD - Traditional Business District (Wealthy Street, for example), UBD - Urban Business District (Eastown or Fulton/Diamond) and C-3 (Downtown) zone districts. The property on Leonard is located partially in a C-2 Commercial zone district and partially in an I-1 Industrial district.

As I mentioned before, we will have design guidelines in the new zoning code (whew!), which I expect will be in effect by the end of this year.

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We currently have design requirements in the TBD - Traditional Business District (Wealthy Street, for example), UBD - Urban Business District (Eastown or Fulton/Diamond) and C-3 (Downtown) zone districts. The property on Leonard is located partially in a C-2 Commercial zone district and partially in an I-1 Industrial district.

As I mentioned before, we will have design guidelines in the new zoning code (whew!), which I expect will be in effect by the end of this year.

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