Shopping project approved

RANCHO SANTA FE — The Association gave its approval for the Plaza de Acacias commercial building project to move forward at its Oct. 20 meeting.
Developers Michael Grehl and Brad Grier, who both grew up in Rancho Santa Fe, were on hand at the meeting to promote their project.
“We couldn’t be happier to add to the fabric of this community,” Grehl said.
The project, proposed at the southwest corner of Avenida de Acacias and El Tordo, has been displaying story poles for several months.
What is planned is a 6,170-square-foot, partial two-story building on a 41,211-square-foot building site, which is currently also occupied by a parking lot and two existing bank and office buildings, which will be retained. The new project appears to meet all the requirements and specifications of Protective Covenant and Regulatory Code.
“Our thoughts were to embrace the Lilian Rice (style) of the structures from many years ago,” said the project’s architect, Doug Mansfield. “Our design reflected that.”
The Association liked that the building fit in with the original village buildings.
“I am impressed by the sensitivity you employed in the design,” Director Roxana Foxx said.
“I think the result of that is a great little building,” Mansfield said.
Association President Jack Queen said it seemed there are already a lot of banks and mortgage companies in the village and asked if the building would be suitable for retail.
Mansfield assured him it would be.
“It could be occupied by one large tenant or several small ones,” Mansfield said.
Mansfield is a former Lily Award winner for his work in the Covenant. The award is given for building and remodel projects that adhere most to the original buildings by the Covenant’s original architect, Lilian Rice.
Parking in the village is always an issue and this project will require 48 spaces. It will meet that requirement by reclaiming spaces in the existing parking lot that are leased to individuals. The developers intend to let the public use the spaces after hours.
In the past, several projects for the location have been proposed. These projects ranged from five to 11 residential units with varying amounts of underground parking and commercial floor space.
But when variances were required because the projects did not comply with the Protective Covenant and Regulatory Code, they were rejected.
This new project is proposed by the new owners MGP IX REIT, LLC.