Tensions remain on Woman's Exchange expansion

Nearly a year has passed since the Woman’s Exchange first shared its plans for expansion with Laurel Park residents, but a workshop Tuesday showed little has changed regarding the neighborhood’s opposition to the project.

That workshop was part of the Laurel Park Overlay District process, approved in summer 2013 and designed to give the neighborhood more input on developments along the edges of the neighborhood. Residents came out of Tuesday’s meeting disappointed with their ability to affect meaningful change in the design of the project, though Woman’s Exchange representatives maintained the workshops had an influence on their proposal.

This process began in earnest last April, when the first of the two required public workshops were held. At that meeting, the Woman’s Exchange outlined the basic details of its proposal: It wanted to build an expansion to its existing facility at 539 S. Orange Ave. It would demolish and reconstruct the existing south wing of the building and construct an addition to the north at 526 Rawls Ave.

The northern wing was designed to house furniture at the nonprofit consignment shop. Additionally, it would serve as the pickup and drop-off site for that furniture — a change designed to improve internal movement and the flow of traffic in the existing parking lot. It’s also the change that ultimately drew the most ire from Laurel Park residents.

“I do not want this, because it’s not going to work.”

Rawls Street, a 20-foot-wide street used for residential parking, would be the site of that pickup and drop-off area. Residents believe that it is ill-suited for the navigation of large trucks, and worry that the residential quality of life would be affected by the additional traffic. On Tuesday, they desperately searched for alternate solutions, pleading with Woman’s Exchange representatives to reconsider that aspect of the proposal.

“All I want to say is, I love the Woman’s Exchange,” said Jude Levy, president of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association. “I do not want this, because it’s not going to work.”

Those Woman’s Exchange representatives made it clear that the group was not going to budge on the location of the loading area, and attempted to persuade residents that the organization had exhausted all other options. Women’s Exchange CEO Karen Koblenz said the company has been working on the plans for expansion for two years now, and it is confident in those plans.

“We understand our operation,” Koblenz said. “If there was any other option that would work operationally for us, we would do it.”

Chris Gallagher, the Hoyt Architects designer who helped develop the plans, outlined the ways in which the project attempted to address other concerns raised at last year’s workshop. He highlighted that the new construction will be just one story on land approved for up to 10 stories, and said the Woman’s Exchange tested the navigation of Rawls Avenue in its 16-foot box truck used for furniture transportation before moving forward.

“(Moving the loading area) is the one thing we couldn’t do,” Gallagher said. “From every point of view, this is the way the site works.”

Residents in attendance Tuesday were skeptical of the claim Rawls was easily navigable in the truck. Daniel Harris, who lives on Rawls, said he rented a 10-foot truck and drove down the street this weekend. Based on his experience, he said he would be shocked if trucks could peacefully back into the designated area.

He said the trials conducted last year by the Woman’s Exchange weren’t representative of the true conditions of the street — the ownership of a nearby apartment complex was in flux, meaning residents there weren’t parked on the street as they are today. He also questioned the business’s assurances that it only averaged eight furniture pickups and drop-offs per day, arguing that some days would exceed that average and exacerbate the issues he expected to arise.

“When you say it’s not going to be a problem for truck deliveries on this narrow street, there’s something wrong there,” Harris said.

After an hour and a half of discussion, the meeting came to an end — not because the Laurel Park residents had exhausted their questions and concerns, but because city staff cut it off. Now, the Woman’s Exchange will apply for its building permit. It’s scheduled to go before the Planning Board in March to seek some adjustments to the code, but it appears unlikely that the loading dock will be a sticking point when it comes to gaining administrative approval from the city.

Courtney Mendez, a senior planner with the city, said the proposed loading area appears to already meet the standards outlined in the code, though city engineers could request updated information on the ability of trucks to back into and out of the area. If a building permit is issued, the neighborhood has the ability to appeal the decision, but Mendez said the appeals process would attempt to determine if staff correctly applied the code in making its decision.

“(Moving the loading area) is the one thing we couldn’t do. From every point of view, this is the way the site works.”

Still, most residents in attendance Tuesday were steadfast in their belief that the proposal would be catastrophic in practice. Toward the end of the workshop, planning consultant Joel Freedman imagined a scenario in which the Woman’s Exchange and the neighborhood were simply no longer compatible with one another — and called attention to the alternative projects that could pop up in its absence.

“Maybe the Woman’s Exchange can’t continue to operate here,” Freedman said. “Maybe that’s the case. It’s zoned Downtown Core; maybe that will be what the future will bring. I don’t know.”