Ken’s Market expansion appeal set for Jan. 9

December 17th, 2008 · 10 Comments

An appeal hearing date of Jan. 9, 2009, has been set on the Ken’s Market expansion project. Some neighbors of the store at 73rd and Greenwood are worried about the increased traffic the larger store will bring, and were upset that the city wasn’t requiring Ken’s to provide significant additional parking. The city initially determined that the traffic impact would be minimal.

As we previously reported, Ken’s is expanding into the spaces that formerly housed Greenwood Bakery, Allusia and Couth Buzzard bookstore. They’re also adding a bit to the back, and adding a partial second story for offices.

Thanks Steve G for the tip!

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10 responses so far ↓

1 seattle mike // Dec 17, 2008 at 5:46 pm

I’m bummed that Ken’s is not going to have a bakery as part of its expansion. Especially since the old bakery left their ovens behind, so I hear.

FWIW, I’m pretty sure you mean “formerly housed”, not “formally”. I don’t remember people in tuxes in the bakery.
2 Matt // Dec 17, 2008 at 5:46 pm

No new parking should be required. The last thing in we need in the neighborhood is more infrastructure devoted to cars.

I’m excited for the expansion, this area badly needs a real grocery store. This should improve our neighborhood walkability quite a bit.
3 Doree // Dec 17, 2008 at 7:08 pm

Thanks for noticing the typo, seattle mike! It’s fixed.
4 Sara // Dec 18, 2008 at 12:31 am

Well said, Matt. I couldn’t agree more. The biggest incentive you can give someone to drive is free easy parking. I walk five blocks to Ken’s. It’s a nice walk, and I am looking forward to the increased selection with the expansion. I’ll walk there more often.
5 Kate Martin // Dec 18, 2008 at 9:17 pm

The really old folks still walking to Ken’s (like Axel on 74th who is 94) are alive and healthy because they walk to Ken’s. We can’t move forward as an urban village without making way for a walkable neighborhood with transit. The more walkable it becomes the less I need to drive. Perfect.
6 pat // Dec 18, 2008 at 9:44 pm

Do any of you actually live behind Ken’s Market? There IS no parking, with all of the employees parking in the neighborhood. They even store their extra long van on Palatine and on 72nd. This is only going to increase with a larger store and more employees. I don’t think that having to provide some parking for employees (or subsidize a bus pass) is a bad thing.
7 jm // Dec 19, 2008 at 10:26 am

We enjoy walking to Ken’s., but parking certainly is a problem in this neighborhood. The streets have become very narrow with all the extra cars people own.
8 Psyched for snow // Dec 20, 2008 at 5:03 pm

All the snow we’ve received reminds me why I’m so excited to have an expanded Ken’s in walking distance. We shouldn’t cater to the car in the future. I’m glad they aren’t building more parking lots.
9 HS // Jan 10, 2009 at 2:04 pm

I’m excited about the expansion of Ken’s market. I live 10 blocks away and enjoy walking there. The increased variety will encourage me to walk/shop there more often and not have to drive to another market further away. The last thing we need is to build more parking lots and encourage more driving.
10 Tom // Jan 28, 2009 at 5:41 am

We live on 73rd just west of Ken’s. We love the store the way it is and marvel at the selection it contains within such a small space. Our biggest gripe with the expansion is an increase in delivery and service vehicles which, even now, make enough noise to occasionally wake us up as early as 5AM.