Jere Downs

LCJ

One of two Walmart stores that opened last year in Washington, D.C., has 83,000 square feet of retail space right on a street corner, topped by four stories of apartments, with parking underground. The other occupies land that was once a car dealership — again, located right at the street, with parking below.

Both have been touted in national media reports on urban design, including a recent one at PlannersWeb, a Burlington, Vt., website for planning commissioners, which concluded, "cities that want good design are going to have to demand it."

In Louisville, planning codes for urban neighborhoods dictate a similar pedestrian-friendly approach, requiring developers to locate buildings at the sidewalk, improve air quality by promoting walking and cycling, and shrink parking lots.

But Walmart is seeking zoning variances to go the opposite direction for its much-anticipated $25 million SuperCenter on West Broadway at 18th Street — a standard, 3.4-acre, big-box store, 400 feet back from the road, surrounded by 686 parking spaces — according to plans filed in March with Louisville Metro Planning & Design.

Despite that plan, Walmart spokeswoman Erica Jones said this week that it's too soon to predict the ultimate design for the long-awaited West End store. The plan submitted in March represents just the first stab, she said.

"We work with each city as far as what we end up building on each site," she said.

Ultimately, the Louisville Metro Board of Zoning Adjustment will have the final say on the design. That process includes public comment, though no public hearings have been scheduled. But city officials have already countered Walmart's plan with potential compromises. For example:

• If Walmart insists on a parking lot in front, the retailer should protect pedestrians with a long, tree-lined crosswalk from Broadway to the door. Since many in the West End walk, bike and ride the bus, they don't need as much parking, which means the parking lot should be halved from 4 acres to 2.

"If the building does not move closer to the streets, a safe connection from West Broadway should be provided," Louisville Metro senior planner Joe Reverman wrote in comments filed April 11th in the project's docket. In an interview, Reverman described his work so far as "a technical review."

• Mindful that the city's two most heavily-used bus routes cross at that intersection, TARC has asked for bus stops equipped with shopping cart corrals, a first for Louisville. TARC also requested a bus pull-off lane be added to Dixie Highway at its redesigned intersection with Broadway.

Louisville's Land Development Code, last revised in 2006, dictates new development conform to existing city buildings, "at a scale that is appropriate for nearby residential areas." In the Highlands, downtown and other dense city corridors for example, code requires new storefront facades border the sidewalk.

The code puts special emphasis on corner developments, such as that busy intersection in the West End, because corner buildings are the most prominent on the block, driving the appearance for other construction. "Entrances shall face the primary street ... or shall be oriented toward a focal point such as a landscaped public square, plaza or similar formal public open space," the code states. "On corner lots, the building shall be constructed at the right-of-way line along both of the streets."

Parking lots should be reduced in size and be behind buildings to "promote the use of alternative modes of transportation, support existing and new economic development, maintain air quality and enhance the urban form ... to promote comfort and safety for pedestrians on the street and the sidewalk," the code states.

Citing urban Wal-Marts in cities such as Washington and Knoxville, Tenn., where a new store's design in a poor neighborhood mimics the factory it replaced, Ed McMahon of the Urban Land Institute said cities like Louisville should stick to their guns on design.

"The biggest impediment to better development in America today is a fear of saying no to anything," said McMahon, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Washington, D.C., organization that promotes wise land use. "The truth is Walmart will build a gray blue battleship box unless the city insists on something better. Cities all over the country are getting something better."

Louisville Metro Planning and Design officials declined to discuss what variances might be allowed for the new Wal-Mart.

But Ted Smith, the city's Chief of Economic Growth and Innovation, said the city is aware of the design's impact, noting that a new Wal-Mart and YMCA nearby "could be a tremendously catalytic set of projects."

"We are taking a holistic view. Those conversations are happening," Smith said in an interview.

And Gretchen Milliken, chief of advance planning in the city's "Strategic Initiatives" department, said the city is developing a comprehensive sustainable development plan for Walmart and its surroundings, including the new YMCA planned nearby.

Milliken said she is inspired by Walmart's new urban look in Washington, D.C., which requires an "extra investment."

"Our interest is to get the best Walmart for this site," she said. "We are trying to have an open dialogue. We don't have a fixed design at this point."

Across 18th Street from the Walmart, the new $21.5 million YMCA will be built on the sidewalk, with all parking and another entrance tucked in back, according to YMCA president and CEO Steve Tarver.

"Our building will be situated along Broadway to preserve the urban corridor and to provide convenient access for public transportation and pedestrians," Tarver said.

For neighborhoods strained by little access to supermarkets, restaurants and other services, there are high hopes Wal-Mart will reboot the long dormant Broadway commercial corridor west of downtown.

Walmart's $25 million Supercenter is being supported with an $1.8 million city grant to pay for the land and $500,000 in a taxpayer cash grant if the company creates at least 225 jobs.

Haven Harrington, author of the Urban Louisville blog, and a sports talk radio host on AM WLOU, is lobbying for urban design akin to Wal-Mart's D.C. stores, adding that initial plans for Louisville highlight "a complete lack of planning and leadership."

"People in the West End were riding their bikes to work before it was trendy," said Harrington, also president of the Concerned Association of Russell Residents. Wal-Mart's initial design proposal, he said, "goes against what every other city is doing, trying to redensify their urban core. ... (Louisville officials) would never allow this to happen in the Highlands. It would not be tolerated."

Babinta Koita, who owns Broadway Fashion on across from the planned Wal-Mart, said the retailer should be mindful that "45 to 50 percent of my customers use the bus to get over here."

"This corner is like a downtown bus terminal," said Koita. "If people can get off the bus at the sidewalk, it is better for Wal-Mart and better for us. Wal-Mart should not put its doors way, way back."

TARC executive director Barry Barker said its proposal for enhanced bus shelters with benches, cart corrals, trash cans and the custom bus lane "are not big dollar" improvements, but will make a difference for "an intersection that has got the best transit service in the city. I am delighted to see that intersection come to life."

Metro Councilman David Tandy, whose district includes the proposed Walmart, declined to comment. His spokesman, Tony Hyatt, said that Tandy, who sits on the council's zoning committee, "is concerned about making any comment" before having to decide on things like variances.

Stephen Porter, a local attorney who specializes in land use and historic preservation, said what Wal-Mart builds will set the tone for future development nearby.

"It needs to be done right. It needs to be a really nice development, to follow the code and fit in, and maybe even be better than the code," he said.

A decade ago, Porter represented the city of Richlawn in negotiations over construction of the St. Matthews Walmart grocery, which abuts the small city. Final results included construction of a 12-foot-tall brick wall to shield neighbors from noise, lower intensity lights, a ban on outside soft drink machines, and store dumpsters shielded from view.

Porter said protracted negotiations with Wal-Mart taught him that the retailer will bend.

"They will make changes if they feel like it is necessary to get their location," Porter said. "If they don't feel it's necessary, they won't."

What's next?

• Walmart has applied for several zoning variances that depart from Louisville Metro's regulations designed to limit sprawl, preserve existing neighborhoods, improve air quality, and promote alternate forms of transportation, including walking and cycling.

• The Development Review Committee and the Board of Zoning Adjustment must review the plans. No dates have been set for that review.

• Citizens can forward any comments to the Louisville Metro Planning & Design case manager, Joe Reverman at joe.reverman@louisvilleky.gov, (502)574-6246.

Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669, Jere Downs on Facebook and Jeredowns on Twitter.