Revised Plans for Drug Mart Plaza OK’d

Developers for the proposed multi-million-dollar Lakewood Plaza renovation presented the newest round of changes to the city’s architectural board of review on Thursday. 

After some give-and-take, the board OK’d the plans, but added a few conditions.

In a departure from the original plans — because of an immovable gas line under the sidewalk along Detroit Avenue — architects .

The board wasn’t impressed.

The renderings for the plaza — also known as the  Plaza — showed structure lacking the architectural design that city officials had hoped for. 

The towers were removed. The landscaping changed. The buildings all had the same height with few differentiating features. 

In a , the board examined the drawings and gave some feedback to the architectural firm for Levey and Company, the firm that bought the building from Giltz and Associates last year. 

David Berkovitz, an architect for Levey and Company, presented the revised plans on Thursday night — with the corrections made.

“We wanted to tie the streetscape back into the design of the building,” he said. “We’ve tried to create an appearance of a façade that looks like (the storefronts) were created individually, rather than a traditional shopping center.”

One of the other concerns that developers addressed was the lack of variation in the elevation of the storefront roofs.

Berkovitz showed the exterior materials that will be used for the project. They include brick, canvas for the awnings and white glossy tile for at least one storefront.

When one nearby resident asked about the lack of windows on the Drug Mart portion of the plan, Berkovitz said the store doesn’t have room to give up on the inside.

Rick Sicha was one of two members of the who voiced concerns about the project.

“Questions remain,” he said. 

Sicha inquired about choice of bricks,  “very strident awning colors” and called the use of gooseneck lamps “too cute.”

“This was never meant to be an exact copy of Lakewood history,” Berkovitz replied. “We felt it was rich in texture and look.”

An extensive renovation — already under way in the back of the building — was expected to wrap up by next summer.

 will be the anchor tenant in the new space — and will expand it size by 30 percent, moving into some of the space formerly occupied by the Sakura Japanese Restaurant.

Officials from the city and from developer Levey and Company met .

When it's finished, the plaza will be without longtime tenants and , with in Lakewood. 

Radio Shack is the only other current tenant that has agreed to stay, although has also signed on to open in the renovated plaza. 

“We’re talking to some restaurateurs,” Berkovitz said. “I think (outdoor dining) is something that they’re interested in.”