Jon Hauser, managing partner at Drake Real Estate Services, hopes to build a single story, multi-unit commercial center along Northfield Blvd., across from Macy’s (on the northeast corner of Valentia, next to the Conservatory Green amphitheatre). He is in the “due diligence” stage and has presented his proposal to the Zoning and Planning Committee for public input and to Stapleton Design Review to see what they would require for approval of the project (see the page 4 article on the grocery store in Eastbridge for an explanation of the Design Review process).

The front of the building stairsteps to follow the curve in the road, which defines sections of the building. Drake indicates he is confident that he will have a restaurant at each end, with patios wrapping around outside. He says these will be places people can get coffee in the morning or dinner at night. His vision is that the restaurants will become gathering places for the community. In the middle section of the building will be retail such as a dry cleaner and pilates studio—amenities for the community rather than for regional shoppers.

The design is contemporary, with metal panels and masonry materials and lots of glass. The building is designed to accommodate a rooftop deck, either initially or in the future, to take advantage of the view of the mountains.

Keven Burnett, executive director of Stapleton MCA says he is talking to Hauser about leasing 3,000 to 6,000 square feet in the middle of the building for a gathering space that could accommodate a fairly large group of people. The MCA would still keep their offices on the south, but would then have a presence on both the north and south sides of the highway.