Last week at a special meeting of the planning commission, representatives from Barghausen Consulting Engineers of Kent, Wash., and Mulvanny G2, of Portland, Ore., briefed commissioners on the new plan.
Bruce Creager of Barghausen outlined some of the changes:
New entrance: Two roads will connect the store to Main Street on the west and the Sterling Highway on the south. The north-south road continues to a new section of Hazel Avenue, but does not connect to Poopdeck Street and the present section of Hazel Avenue. The Sterling Highway entrance is now opposite the employee entrance of the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. The roads lead to a main entrance on the center of the lot, with a southern entrance to a pharmacy drive-up window.
Landscaping: The eastern edge of the lot facing Petro Express has more landscaping, with a dense section of blue spruce by a loading zone. The highway has a 20-foot wide forested buffer.
Walkways: Three walkways link the store to nearby streets. One walkway is on the edge of the parking lot to the highway, another along the west side of the store and a third along Hazel Avenue. The paths will be scored concrete contrasting with parking lots. Sections longer than 100 feet have benches, trash cans and ash bins spaced along the path.
Outdoor common areas: Three outdoor common areas totaling 3,250-square-feet are located around the building. These areas include benches and tables with seating. Low planters define the common areas.
“It gives it a sense of enclosure without blocking views,” Creager said.
One outdoor area turns out to be a great place to sit and look at Kachemak Bay, Creager said.
“We didn’t locate it there with the idea of it being a viewing platform,” he said. “It’s a fantastic view.”
Randy Sauer, an associate with Mulvanny G2, discussed other changes.
Lighting: The store complies with the Homer Community Design Manual, he said. There are no backlit panels or awning and no surface mounted lighting.
Facades: The west and south walls have the most prominent facades. He said all walls have a vertical shift every 60 feet, but that it’s impractical to have more horizontal shifts in that space. All awnings are functional.
Siding and trim: Sauer proposed several textures of concrete block, either smooth or rough. The main colors are charcoal, sandstone and natural, with charcoal at the base. Wood accents also are used.
“To provide an architectural animation, if you will,” he said. “This helps reduce the massing to a more human scale, and it helps to break up the wall plane.”
Roofing: The roof is a green, standing-seam metal roof. Sauer said looking from the north the view of the roof would be screened, so that from Pioneer Avenue or the Town Center it would not appear as a flat plane. Mechanical equipment on the roof also would be shielded.
Planning commissioner Bruce Hess praised Fred Meyer’s design.
“The product here is outstanding,” he said. “I think it’s a very attractive building. I’m confident the rest of the commission will feel the same way.”
Although the Homer Advisory Planning Commission can impose more conditions and require changes, the latest plan is no longer conceptual. It’s what Fred Meyer has filed to build. The new design moves away from the old plan of shed roofs and corrugated steel siding to peaked roofs and concrete rock siding. Wood composite siding provides some architectural variation. The entrance is set off by a peaked-roof structure with wood accents and large windows. A long porch with a wood facade breaks up the west wall. The north wall is less broken up, and was criticized by city planners for not following large-retail store zoning codes.
Parking: Most of the 225 parking spaces are on the west side of the store. A small 15-space lot is near the highway. City code calls for a minimum of 220 spaces. Landscaped islands are set up inside the lot.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
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