OPINION: Look at the loud signage of the new liquor store on Redmond Way - smack in the middle of downtown Redmond on Redmond Way near Cleveland Avenue. The liquor store is moving into this beautiful, brick building, a 1920's historic landmark known as mayor "Bill Brown Garage".
According to Rob Odle, City Director of Planning and Development "the Comprehensive Plan does not get down to describing the specific location of specific uses. Liquor stores are not singled out for special consideration and are considered to be general retail."
Longtime resident Andrea Quenneville wrote city council and the mayor complaining about the large, tacky signs in front of the building, saying the signs were "offensive, 'ghetto' looking, and loud", and that "it doesn't present a good image for downtown Redmond". She wrote "do we not want a clean, pleasant image for the city of Redmond since it's and right down the street from the park-to-be?".
Jim Roberts, the city staffer in charge of economic development replies:
"Believe me, we were disappointed about the proposed location right in the heart of downtown in a very prominent historic building. What a great restaurant site it could have been. I have no information about the lease arrangements. We're trying to get them to put historic information about the town in the store windows to make them more interesting for pedestrians than booze ads. Any other ideas of what could go in the windows would be appreciated. I'm not sure we can make it happen, but we could try."According to Landmarks commissioner Miguel Llanos, a city planner from the Landmarks Commission asked the Redmond Historical Society if they would display some artifacts in the windows and the Society happily obliged. The Bill Brown Garage was built in 1920 and used to be a 20-car repair shop. Brown was Redmond's longest serving mayor (1919-1948).
I wonder if other cities have been able to influence the State Liquor Board on site location or signage. Any thoughts on Redmond's downtown signage?
Opinion and story by Bob Yoder
Photos by Yoder
Very cheesy looking signage and I agree, extremely disappointing use for a high profile building and location.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a crappy time to open new retail locations, especially restaurants, but wouldn't this have made a great addition to the "restaurant/bar district" along Leary Way?
Tom
15+ year Redmond resident
I drove by this today and I was slightly disappointed but perhaps not as much as you, Bob. The red signage mounted on the building itself doesn't look brash at all to me, though the signs by the doors and the bright red canopy over one of the doors are kind of eye sores. Not moreso, in my opinion, than other signs for businesses in the same area though. So yeah, I agree a restaurant or something else would be nicer, but I definitely don't have a strong negative reaction to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering how much of the reaction to it being "ghetto" and "offensive" is more about the fact that alcohol is being sold there than about the signage.
That is an interesting question--I wonder if liquor stores, which tend to keep pretty regular business hours (the Redmond one at its old location closed at 7:00pm I believe), do increase the traffic of drunk drivers.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this doesn't seem like it's that far from the old location on 160th, so I would be curious to know how much of a difference that makes.
FWIW, I have never run into people who were visibly intoxicated at the Redmond Liquor Store, but I'm not exactly a frequent visitor :)
Isn't this going to end up being real close to the new downtown park being planned?
ReplyDeleteLet's see, you get your booze and you hang out in the park.
Sounds like a winning combination... for somewhere else than Redmond.
Still don't understand why the city must knock down good buildings for a park when there is already a nice green strip where the old Workshop Tavern used to be. It creates a natural pathway from the new apts/condos to the Saturday market and Town Center. I just don't get it...
ReplyDeleteI'm a relative newcomer to Redmond. I moved here because of the quaint townsy feeling of the community. And I've been really pleased with all the downtown updating that is currently going on. I have always enjoyed driving by this impressive brick building. Then...to have it converted to a liquor store? YUCK! It's a bad location for that sort of business and doesn't blend in with all the other local businesses. The signage is ugly. Overall, it's an eyesore and a disconnect from the general downtown feeling.
ReplyDeleteMost Liquor stores in washington state have all the same signs/fonts. Also, how would a liquor store increase drunk driving traffic any more than the amount of people driving drunk to grocery stores and neighborhood bars? They are already mixed into the traffic. Alcoholics don't just generate drunk driving traffic around liquor stores. Its everywhere.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you've taken a poll of signage of liquor stores around the State of Washington. You're more industrious than most.
ReplyDeleteThe way I look at it, any place where liquor is imbibed or purchased probably has a higher incidence of traffic accidents. (Grocery stores sell more food than anything so my hunch may not apply for them). You could probably easily check this with police or the Liquor Board. Wonder what others think?
Bob has implicated the Historical Society in his post about the new Washington State Liquor Store, leasing the historical building, known as Bill Brown's Garage.
ReplyDeleteThe building is part of the Walking Tour conducted by the Historical Society. The next tour (of all of the Historical Buildings in Olde Redmond) is May 16th. The complete Tour is described on www.RedmondHistory.org
Our stated purpose as a society includes sharing and celebrating Redmonds's heritage, so we jumped at the chance to do so by showcasing our collection in the windows of the new state liquor store going into Bill Brown's Garage (previously Underhill's Furniture). Each of the five windows highlights a different theme: the Old Trading Company, mid 20th century homes, logging, Bill Brown's Legacy and a huge aerial shot of the city from the 1960's.
To lighten the tone a bit, Redmond was once the home of a "Lazy Husband's Ranch." From our April 2007 Newsletter, here is a brief description of the "ranch."
“Under the law, husbands who will not
support their families may be imprisoned and
forced to work, their earnings going to the
wife.” That was the law back in 1913. Okay,
now what to do with these lazy husbands?
Put them to work, of course! So that was the
beginning of the “Willows Stockade,” “Lazy
Husband Ranch,” or “County Poor Farm,”
whatever you preferred to call it.
In 1916, for $126,000, the county bought
the 420-acre “Willows Farm” on Willows
Road at the location of what had been
platted out to be the Town of York. The
county took over the herds and all the farm
tools, making it a going concern as soon as
the prisoners arrived.
Richard, you've added some interesting history, here. Thanks for sharing the Ranch story.
ReplyDeleteAs for my 'Mayor Bill Brown's Garage & liquor story' I never implied anything about the historical society. It's simply a fact that the society has chosen to display artifacts in the window. Thank you for sharing the window display themes. They sound interesting.
On another note, I've heard from two neighbor sources the new liquor store building lease costs $11,000/month. Our taxes pay for this!
Correction, the 1920's Brown Garage landmark is being leased for ~$18,000/month to the State Liquor Board, per John Redal of Director Retail Stores (WSLCB). Tax dollars at work.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteI think you may be too personally invested in this issue to be objective.
You objected (twice) to the fact that tax dollars are used to rent the building, but you don't mention that the tax revenue from liquor stores is well in excess of $300 million dollars per year. So now do you like the liquor store?.... didn't think so.
You mention that the signage is tacky and the location of the building isn't right. Have you complained about any other similar signage?... didn't think so.
I think your real objection is that you don't want liquor sold in the city because you think it is morally wrong and can lead people down the same destructive path you found yourself a while ago. I can appreciate your viewpoint from your perspective.
If you can cite violations of state law or city codes related to the operation, then I agree that we should encourage enforcement. But if you object because there are no laws that address your areas of concern, then you need to lobby for a change in the law.
Frankly, comments by the city staffer who said; “…we were disappointed about the proposed location right in the heart of downtown in a very prominent historic building. What a great restaurant site it could have been” are totally inappropriate. The city has a lot of rules and if a business follows the rules then they have a right to do business. One has to wonder if the “disappointment” about a particular business would lead to an unfair, biased ruling based on a ‘secret’ desire for a particular type of establishment. It’s hard enough to follow all the real rules without worrying about how to avoid “disappointing” a city staffer about my particular business.
If there are increased drunk driving incidents or public intoxication related to the liquor store, there are real remedies to address the problem. We can’t invent new rules ‘on the fly’.
Well, I agree with Bob. And why does anyone who lives in Redmond have to be objective about this issue? A healthy and vibrant downtown area affects our city's brand and reputation - and ultimately is reflected in our property values.
ReplyDeleteA liquor store in this location does nothing to enhance the image of Redmond, no matter how legal it is. A liquor store in a high profile building and location is NOT the highest and best use of the property, in spite of any "right" to do business there. The tacky signs just emphasize the poor siting decision.
What was wrong with the old location? The old location generated plenty of tax revenue, by the way. I do not believe that any potential increase in tax revenues offsets the long-term negatives. And why couldn't the city and the Chamber of Commerce devote some energy and resources to encouraging the property owner and prospective tenants with a more community-friendly business offering? Does it always have to be about the almighty buck? Personally, I prefer Bedford Falls to Potterville.
So should Redmond be run by the opinions of certain people rather than by the laws governing the activities? Gee... what could possibly go wrong with that plan?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the irony in your arguement is pretty funny. You say that you are concerned about the impact on your property taxes, yet you later state that it shouldn't be about the "almighty buck".
Aren't qualities like "highest and best," "tacky signs," "poor siting," "community-friendly" just your opinion?
If I find hamburgers objectionable I suppose I could make the same points you did and some would agree.