kensington terrace
yes, it's another project with "kensington" in the name. for reference, we already have kensington grill, kensington video, ken theatre, kensington place (condos), kensington vine, and san diego coffee, tea and spices at kensington. this one's a whopper though - say goodbye to the overpriced gas at the corner gas station on marlborough and adams and the burned out house two doors down. the entire block is being razed for a new mixed-use project named kensington terrace, and it sounds pretty impressive.
the first floor will be comprised of retail space, the second floor for offices, and the third floor "penthouse condos". there will be townhouses too - something new for around here. it's really going to fill out that part of adams avenue, hopefully with some interesting retail. the developer says he plans to fit the character of the neighborhood, and the architect, allard johnson and associates has done some distinctive projects in san diego, including the very cool-looking hamilton row in normal heights.
we had heard about the project a while back from one of the local realtors, rex downing. prior to that, the son of the owners of the decrepit kensington video complained about high density projects coming to kensington, which makes me ask, what's wrong with high density projects along adams ave? isn't that smart growth? there's already a hugely successful one across the street from the new project. he also complained about having to contribute to a proposed maintenance district fund to improve the look of adams ave. given that the owners of kensington video are too cheap to even put a new coat of paint on their dump, it's no surprise that they led the fight against having to spend another dime of their hard-earned rewind penalty profits on something so frivolous as how the sidewalk in front of their business looks.
Labels: "adams avenue" kensington "kensington terrace" "san diego"
posted by Paul Jamason @ 4/24/2007 09:19:00 PM
27 comments
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27 Comments:
Agree with your assessment on how Kensington Terrace will be a welcome addition and what a dump the Kensington Video has become. They have managed to perfect an arrogance and look unbecoming to the neighborhood.
wow that is dead-on about kensington video and their arrogance. it's been a while since i've been inside, but my neighbor says the carpet stinks in there too, which i seem to recall.
Bleu Boheme has remodeled and opened ,Peavey's Jewelers is updating their facade and the video store is still looking horrible and outdated.
Wasn't the gas station supposed to be turned into a grocery store such as Henry's?
i hadn't heard that. just that the owners were hanging out at kensington vine a few months back and discussing what shops people might want in there, if i remember correctly. although a grocery store would be great.
re: peavey's facade, i'm kind of disappointed in how it turned out - pretty generic 80's-style stucco. oh well.
Agree that the facade is a little bland, but will take it over the faded paint, outdated movie posters and security bars of Ken Video
It would be great if Kensington would start to look as cool as Little Italy does.
I think the Sd Spice coffee shop at kensington could use a little change as well, not to mention Air Conditioning, its so hot, i'm forced to go to starbucks. Anyone know why they are getting an alcohol license?
i agree, little italy really looks good nowadays. i think it has to do with the business district maintenance fee they charge, which when proposed in kensington, was vehemently opposed by the cheap-asses at ken video.
i used to really like the spices coffee shop, but recently the staff changes, uncomfortable furniture and unreliable hours have been a drag. hopefully they can turn it around.
well as far as the terrace businesses are concerned, I hope they put in some kind of market, a couple little shops and perhaps a real gym would be great too.
well as far as the terrace businesses are concerned, I hope they put in some kind of market, a couple little shops and perhaps a real gym would be great too.
I'm certainly not against smart growth, but if you can't appreciate Kensington Video I'm done listening to you. Who exactly is being arrogant?
actually i do appreciate funky, independent places like kensington video. but they seem to have a hostility toward any kind of improvement in the neighborhood, or to their own business. couple that with the smugness of the place, it's 7 pm closing time (the neighborhood is safe at that hour now), and it's an overall thumbs-down for me.
i also have a pet peeve against arrogant writers - union trib's street is one example - so i'll try to be more conscious of that in the future.
Saw a flier on a telephone pole in the neighborhood encouraging residents to attend a public hearing to oppose this development.
I think that this development will enhance our neighborhood by replacing the gas station and boarded up houses.
was this recently? i thought the public hearing was last week.
I think it was delayed due to the fires and is now next week
The community meeting was last night. There were a number of concerned residents who seemed to believe the development was too dense for Kensington. I, however, think the developer has some great ideas and that the development will liven up Kensington and give us residents more options. I would love to see some sort of market too!
hi joey, didn't get a chance to go but my partner and friends went. they also support it and got a laugh out of some of the anti-project comments.
also, the letter we received against the project that was distributed around the neighborhood had some outright lies in it, and these were addressed by the developer apparently. hoping to do a full post on this over the weekend.
RE: "Kensington Terrace"
To begin with, I have to wonder why the person "ANONYMOUS" feels the need to hide. Secondly, did any of you who support the project attend the meeting last evening?? Mr. Jansen is a fairly polished salesperson. However, when questioned about specifics, he was very evasive. He did not address solutions to problems that a number of residents presented. If you look carefully at the design of the proposal, I fail to see how anyone can conclude that it reflects the character of the community. Sincerely,
Jim Symons
4666 Edgware Rd.
Kensington
jim, i understand your concerns, especially since you live on edgeware near where the project is located. i'll discuss this more in a new post regarding this project, but to be fair, the letter sent out by the anti-project folks was misleading and contained outright lies. this includes claims of the removal of all parking on adams, and exaggerating the number of vehicle trips the project will create. while the developer may have been evasive in your opinion, your group's letter was hardly credible, and you sound like the pot calling the kettle black.
Yes, Love this blog. I live on Kensington Drive and I would love a grocery store (Trader Joe's would be PERFECT) A real gym would also be worth exploring. More restaurants (corner Italian or Thai/Chinese) would be very welcomed into the hamlet of Kensington. I don't mind the proposed development. The gas station and the boarded up homes have got to go.
thanks!
how about a fresh & easy from tesco? although 10,000 square feet is probably too big...
The non vocal majority of Kensington fully supports this project.
Why would anyone not welcome a well thought out , clean and new addition to the neighborhood.
Opponents would be better served to police the untidy and poorly maintained homes and Kensington Video.
I welcome this project which will bring new life into the neighborhood. From all the blogs i have been reading, 90 percent of the complaints have been about building design and reguations, ie- size, height, parking, traffice, use etc. My response to ALL is the developer is building what he is allowed and entitled. The correct way to avoid this problem would have been to be more involved years ago when the building regulations and zoning for that block/corridor was changed. But that would have required effort and foresight and lets face it, we live in a short sighted, narrow minded world and as usual, the complaints only arise when it affects **ME**. In closing, this really isnt the time to be arguing building regulations, that was done years ago. Now is the time to EMBRACE the developers and work WITH them to find SOLUTIONS that work for EVERYONE!
"police the untidy and poorly maintained homes"?
That sounds frightening. Does the review committee get to wear arm bands?
Interesting thought, vandyke, that community involvement could have somehow affected the rezoning done in 2000 by ordinance. As the Ken-Tal Planning Group can tell you, they were unaware that the zoning had changed until 2006, when this project came before them, because local planning groups were not involved in the review of the Planned District Ordinance that increased the height on Adams Avenue.
As for you, Mr. Jamason, should you choose to open the City Trip Generation Manual referred to by the project's Traffic Study, you'll find that it is actually the City staff and the developer who are underestimating the number of trips that will be generated by this project, and that the traffic study includes numerous factual errors. Among their bogus claims, that in addition to the gas station, there is an entire 650 square foot convenience store presently on site for which they subtracted trip credits from the total to lower their estimates. If you can find that convenience store, please let us know.
And finally, while you are dissing the Hanfords and Kensington Video, they have remained neutral on the subject of this project, although Guy Hanford is a member of the Ken-Tal Planning Group and voted "Yes" to approve this project in October right along with the rest of group.
thanks for the information truth, that is very useful. i wasn't aware of the errors in the traffic study or guy's vote for the project. i just recall his opposition to it in a reader article some time ago.
i'd be interested in seeing the traffic study. even with the "correct" information, i'm prepared to deal with the additional traffic the project brings as a trade-off for its benefits. thanks again.
Please visit the official Kensington Terrace website for more information about the project and to voice your opinion.
Kensington Terrace Website
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