Williams Ave Building Development... and bikes?

January 11th, 2012 by Daria Crymes

Monday night I attended the Boise Neighborhood Association monthly meeting. Among the new developments on the street is the news that local grocery and natural food store New Seasons has applied for a permit to build a store between Vancouver and Williams on the south border of Fremont. Our responses are mixed in these parts. At the moment the closest grocery, Whole Foods, is about 15 blocks away from this site. That is close enough to walk on a leisurely day, to bike with my children on a less leisurely day, and, on a typical day, we pop in on the way home from work, school or play. In our car. So many of us are excited. The less exciting part, however, is the fact that the plan (according to the the permit with BDS/City of Portland) is for a one story, 28,000 square foot building with a parking lot of 60 spaces. This may slow down some of the zippy traffic in this area (see N Williams Traffic Safety Operations Project) yet it will also complicate an already busy area and, primarily, it seems not to be a good use of space. Being one story. This is just the beginning stages right now. We will see what New Seasons & the neighborhoods (of Boise-Eliott) are open to in the coming months and meetings. We do look forward to some sort of collaboration! For more on conversations with New Seasons check out Bike Portland. Check out any homes available in Mississippi/Williams Ave’s exciting and ever growing neighborhood. Stay tuned for upcoming meetings and events related to the Williams Ave environs. Next post: Menasche’s proposed mega developments…