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Lakewood association says no to pharmacy
By ANDREW MEACHAM © St. Petersburg Times, published January 28, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- Neighbors rejected a developer's plan to build a Walgreens pharmacy at the corner of 31st Street and 54th Avenue S. The Lakewood Civic Association on Tuesday turned down by a 39-13 vote RKM Development's proposal to build the pharmacy where a First Union Bank now sits at 3095 54th Ave. S. The First Union would rebuild and move next door to the east. The members approved by a 34-14 vote a proposed clinic by the Heart and Vascular Institute of Florida, which would occupy undeveloped land east of the proposed Walgreens and First Union sites. Land for both sites belongs to the Bethel Community Baptist Church, 1045 16th St. S. The church is building a new sanctuary at 2901 54th Ave. S. It owns all of the land from the bank east to Lakewood United Church of Christ and between 54th and 52nd Avenues S. The Walgreens and First Union projects will be considered for zoning changes by the Planning Commission and the City Council. The corner and adjacent property in the northeast quadrant of 31st Street and 54th Avenue S has been the site of previous battles between businesses and neighbors. Winn-Dixie approached the church about the property in 1996 but retreated after neighbors turned thumbs down on the idea, said the Rev. Manuel Sykes of Bethel Community. They came out in force in 1998 to fight off a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. "It's been one of those things where nothing has gone through," said Sykes, 43. "They have resisted anything that was of a commercial nature." At Tuesday's meeting, RKM attorney David Bacon noted the neighborhood's history and tried to address specific complaints with previously proposed developments. The property's perimeter would be lined with trees, and the Walgreens would get a Mediterranean tile roof, Bacon said. The zoning change from general office to commercial also raised concerns for some. Several residents stood up and asked whether allowing retail business on the north side of 54th Avenue would lead to less attractive developments and more abandoned properties. Bacon told the neighbors that the Walgreens deal comes with a "reverter clause," nullifying the zoning change if the property is not developed as planned. But the comments of neighbors repeatedly pushed the issue beyond the boundaries of the proposed site. David Zachem, a registered property appraiser who lives in Lakewood Estates, questioned the strategy of adding retail space to an area that already has too much. "I'm afraid, Mr. Bacon, you're asking us to do for you that which we were not willing to do for Wal-Mart," Zachem said. He noted that a Winn-Dixie on 62nd Avenue S had closed its doors, followed in 2000 by Publix leaving Coquina Key Plaza at 4350 Sixth St. S, and that shopping centers anchored by Albertsons at 3030 54th Ave. S and Kash n' Karry at 955 62nd Ave. S have unrented properties in them. "Just because you build another grocery store, that doesn't mean you are going to increase the number of gallons of milk that are sold," Zachem said. "The population can only support a certain level of business." Like other residents, he urged RKM to consider building instead on 34th Street, which is already zoned for commercial. But Bacon said that Walgreens planners like the area's demographics and are not worried about competition from a new Eckerd Drug Store at 3501 54th Ave. S. RKM considered 34th Street but found the sites there unworkable, he said. The 50,000-square-foot Heart and Vascular Institute clinic would employ between 20 and 30 physicians and take up a little more than 4 acres. "I've lived and worked on the south side of town for 25 years, and I know the need here," said Mark Norstein, who shares a clinic with another physician at 1100 62nd Ave. S. The two doctors are principals in the proposed institute and would move their practice there. RKM is requesting a zoning change from general office to commercial property. The Heart and Vascular Institute is requesting a change from residential to general office. Both issues come before the Planning Commission on Feb. 13 and the City Council March 15. MeetingsEUCLID-ST.PAUL: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. St. Paul's Catholic Church school cafeteria, 1900 12th St. N. Meet candidates for public office. HISTORIC KENWOOD: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Albright United Methodist Church, 2750 Fifth Ave. N. Police presentation on auto theft. SNELL ISLE: 7 p.m. Thursday. St. Petersburg Woman's Club, 40 Snell Isle Blvd. Installation of officers.
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