BLYTHEWOOD – After much discussion by members of Blythewood’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) concerning architectural details, the Board approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for a building that proposes to house a restaurant and associated retail space to be located in the University Village shopping complex off Blythewood Road.
The building will be located next to Domino’s Pizza, with a space between buildings for Domino’s drive-thru lane.
The applicant, Gaskins & LeCraw, Inc. of Duluth, GA, represented Blythewood Concepts, LLC of Greensboro, N.C., before the Board on Monday, Sept. 16. Blythewood Concepts, LLC will be the owner of the building.
”The proposal is to construct a 7,500 square foot multi-tenet commercial building that will house both retail businesses and a restaurant at 733 University Village Drive,” Town Administrator Daniel Stines said, introducing the project.
The TMS No. for the property is RI5200-01-56.
The Board suggested the building – which presented as a painted structure with brick trim – be wrapped on all sides with brick. It will feature glass on the façade. The building will sit on a 0.718-acre lot that is zoned Town Center (TC) District which allows for multi-tenant, retail/commercial and restaurants.
Questioned by Board Chair Paul Moscati about the amount of glass across the front of the building, Joe Strickland, president of High Rock Development (the construction company),” said the intent is to mirror the facades of Lizards’ Thicket and Blythewood Pharmacy across the street.
The building will sit at the end of a strip of other businesses that include Domino’s Pizza, Anytime Fitness and Lizard’s Thicket restaurant on the opposite end.
During the meeting, the Board asked many questions concerning the architectural aspects of the building.
Ralph Walden, longtime architectural advisor to the Town’s ARB members, emphasized that the building’s materials, colors and structure would need to match the architecture of the existing buildings in order to prevent the new construction from contrasting with the old construction.
Questioned about the amount of parking that would be available on site, Kyle Sharpe, a civil engineer with Gaskins & LeCraw, said parking would also be available in the Food Lion parking lot and in other nearby lots.
Asked by Walden when construction was expected to commence, Strickland said it would begin as soon as the company could obtain permitting.
The parking and site plan will be reviewed by the Planning Commission at its October meeting.
The Board voted unanimously to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the building.
