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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo to RGPT re City CommentsMEMORANDUM TO: Ross Gallantine, Ramco Gershenson FROM: Matt Silvers, Flix Entertainment RE: Flix Brewhouse at Merchant’s Square Comments on City Response DATE: October 14, 2013 You have asked that I respond in writing to the most recent comments tendered by the City of Carmel, Indiana. My comments, which reflect the corporate position of Flix Brewhouse, are set forth in bold, underlined and italicized responses below. 1. The Dept. would like you to look into adding a vehicular entrance into the site, off of Station Drive, to help with circulation and flow throughout the site. With the addition of a big user such as this, the Dept. would like to avoid the potential backups that may occur on Station Drive and offer another exit option. This could go between the section of 19 parking spaces and 15 parking spaces at the northeast edge of the property. We have no issues with this item. See attached site plan. 2. The Dept. would also like to see pedestrian connectivity better addressed with these site improvements. For example, if the additional vehicle entrance can be put in, we would like to see sidewalks along each side of it, to have a designated place for people to walk. Another location could be between the rows of parking, or along the ends of the drive aisles. We have no issues with this item. See attached site plan. 3. Since a variance might be needed for the number of parking spaces, as proposed, the Dept. would like you to add in a few more parking landscaping islands on the ends of the parking rows to better facilitate and direct cars down the main drive aisle. The Dept. has found that other centers without a barrier on the end of the aisle creates confusion and causes safety hazards because cars have to come out into the drive aisle to see around the parked car. We have no issues with this item. See attached site plan. 4. If additional landscaping islands cannot be provided, can some sort of raised surface be provided? Or, perhaps a curbed area that is filled in with concrete? See item #3 above. 5. The drive aisle directly in front of the entrance near the crosswalk comes to a bottleneck. The Dept. is concerned this is not the best method for directing traffic through this part of the site. Perhaps it should be one way (to go east) all the way through the new parking spaces? Or perhaps take out the two way entrance right to the east of where it goes to one lane. No issues with this item we have provided one way traffic. See attached site plan 6. Please provide a more detailed floor plan. Provided to Ramco Gershenson but still a work in progress and subject to additional changes, modifications and fine-tuning. See attached. 7. The area where the movie posters are located: is it possible to have this be a full wall of windows instead? Trying to think of and possibly avoid a variance need here – if a wall of windows was put in, then the posters could be applied, removed, and replaced as necessary, but could be considered window signage, instead of additional external signage. They could be directly applied to the window face, or hung from the inside in a modern way – to go along with the design of the building. Staff is open to ideas. It is not possible to install windows at this location as there is an auditorium on the other side of this exterior wall and no room on the inside to create a hall with windows facing out. It is well accepted that cinema auditoriums cannot have windows. Movie posters in this day and age aren’t hugely necessary and they are placed where they are in order to break up the façade, but if they must be deleted for aesthetic reasons, we are amenable. That being said, 98% of the cinemas in the USA have exterior “coming soon” and “now playing” posters and as long as the poster cases are of good quality, this should not be an issue. We are also open to other tasteful and appropriate signage opportunities at this location. 8. What is the seating capacity for the brewhouse on the inside? Will there not be an outdoor seating area to go along with the Brewhouse? Please add this outdoor seating area back to the site plan and also provide details on what it will look like. Total seating will be roughly 968 seats and an additional 34 handicapped seats. Flix is working with Ramco Gershenson to ascertain the extent to which the outdoor seating area can be extend over what would be two parking spaces to get a truly useable outdoor dining/beverage area. As shown, it is too small and was deleted accordingly. A smaller outdoor area is of little practical use to us, as it is the sort of thing that would make a real difference and carry genuine appeal if it were right sized. However, we have also been advised by Ramco Gershenson that Cost Plus would need to approve this use as well. 9. The seating area could be placed to the east of the planters, if some of the proposed landscaping planting areas are removed and replaced with tables. Or, perhaps the tables could line the building underneath the overhang. A third idea would be to have the outdoor seating area next to the existing PetCo space. This could help to liven up that area, as it seems very blank now. Flix Brewhouse has no use for outdoor seating by the Petco adjacency. Among other things, it will be impossible to control alcoholic beverages in a standalone area. However, standard shopping center seating makes sense in this area, which we would defer to Ramco Gershenson. 10. The Dept. would also like to see better connections to the existing architecture on the PetCo elevation. Perhaps the area where the white EIFS is to be located can have the same cornice line as the existing structure. Or, instead of the white EIFS, could this be more of the metal panel material? We feel Flix needs its own identity and we are OK as originally shown. 11. The Dept. understands this tenant has a more modern design, but it appears that the design ended to the west of the entrance where the white EIFS is located. This needs some more attention to detail and perhaps more brick, to stair-step down to the existing facades of the PetCo. We like it as designed and feel the landscaping will enhance. 12. There are two bumped out areas on the new building façade – can these areas have a different brick pattern to call more attention to the area? The Dept. believes this could be a really nice feature for the building. This will be addressed by Flix Brewhouse’s architect, but the current plan is to alter the shade of the brick used in this area to create visual interest and to enhance the articulation of the façade. 13. Should the yellow overhang extend all the way to the PetCo façade to help carry the visual line all the way across the building? It seems to stop abruptly after the movie posters. We generally do not think that this is needed, or a good idea architecturally. Flix Brewhouse’s architect will address this in greater detail. 14. For parking, Staff only counts 12 handicap spaces. Please show where the other 10 spaces are located. We will meet the required HCP stalls for the overall center. 15. Also, on the site plan, the existing parking rows at the far east of the project site, have a statement about 9 spaces in each row, but there are actually 16 spaces. This has been revised. 16. The (north) east façade where the new parking spaces are (where the Old Navy tenant used to be): is there an overhang on this part of the building that matches the existing building where World Market is located? It appears on the site plan that there is a slight overhang immediately next to the FIix space, but then disappears. Should this be continued to match the overhang on the existing building facing east? Yes, we have provided an overhang along this side. The architecture will be the same design as the rest of the center. If you have further questions, please advise.