A proposal to redevelop the Golden Bear Shopping Center in Upper Arlington will get its first hearing on Monday. The plan, from Arcadia Development, calls for demolishing the 1960s-era center and replacing it with a six-story mixed-use development.
Located at 3700 Riverside Dr., the one-story center is currently home to Colin’s Coffee, Figlio Wood Fired Pizza, Basil Upper Arlington, Rozor’s Edge and a post office. A summary of the proposal prepared by the city of Upper Arlington suggested that some of the existing tenants could return in the new development.
The Upper Arlington Board of Zoning and Planning (BZAP) will review the conceptual proposal at a November 5th work session. Materials submitted for the meeting show a 108-unit building with about 30,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor and a similar amount of office space on the second.
Parking would be provided in a three-level garage and in adjacent surface lots, with enough space all together to accommodate 433 cars. The plan for the residential portion of the building features one, two and three-bedroom condominiums that would be offered for sale.
No exterior elevations or renderings were included, although a series of “inspiration images” were provided, showing pictures of similar projects.
Scott Patton, Managing Partner of Arcadia Development, said that renderings will likely be included when an official development plan is submitted in December or January. The images were included to get some initial feedback on the design.
“We like to involve BZAP members, staff and public at workshops when discussing the direction of the exterior,” he said.
M + A Architects is handling the design of the project, the same architect that teamed up with Arcadia Development on the 11-story Arlington Gateway. That project – also a redevelopment of an aging strip center – will likely break ground early next year, according to Patton.
