New shopping center on Sutterville Road to open in October
By Andrea Rosen
Viewpoint Staff Writer
Completion of the new shopping center at the corner of Sutterville Road
and Freeport Boulevard across from Land Park and City College is set to
open this coming October, according to Phil Harvey, senior vice president
of development for Petrovich Development Company, developer of the project.
To be named Stone Pointe, the center will total 13,000 square feet. To
date, the only confirmed tenant for the center is FedEx/Kinko's, which
will face Freeport Boulevard. This service will no doubt attract not only
local college students and faculty but also many customers from the surrounding
Hollywood Park, Land Park and Curtis Park neighborhoods. The developer
is very interested in locating a good delicatessen for the center as well,
but one has yet to materialize.
Stone Pointe is actually built on two adjacent parcels. Both are zoned
C-2 , permitting commercial development and, as a result, no additional
entitlements were required by the city. Other than the FedEx/Kinko's,
the remaining spaces will be 2,500-3,500 square feet each.
The name, Stone Pointe, was given in recognition of Bill Stone, the owner
of the former Money Broker store located on that site, who has leased
his parcel to the developer.
This corner has been a perennial challenge for the several former, mostly
short-lived enterprises that have occupied it. Besides enlarging the building
site by using two parcels, the current developer is focusing on seeking
neighborhood serving tenants and better circulation to improve the chance
of business success.
Ingress and egress will be facilitated by two driveways, one on Freeport
Boulevard and one on Sutterville Road, replacing the former five driveways.
Approximately 50 parking spaces will be available to meet city parking
requirements. The developer also promises good bicycle parking directly
in front of the center's shops.
The architectural style chosen for Stone Pointe is Spanish Revival and
is loosely based on the building housing Metro Espresso Café and
the Bloom Room a bit further down Freeport Boulevard. The center will
include deep sidewalks and casual service restaurants. A sidewalk through
the parking lot will be included to make passage to stores safer. Street
trees are planned as well.
An art piece is in the works, which will be designed by the same artist
who produced the controversial recycled bumper horse in front of the R
Street Marketplace Safeway. Stone Pointe's piece will be an eagle and
will also be fabricated of recycled chrome bumpers.
The developer believes that removing the blight on this corner will help
the future Curtis Park Village residential and commercial project as people
heading in that direction will see this center on their way into the future
rail yards development.
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