With Common Market SouthEnd closing its doors on July 30th, the Pepsi Bottling Plant on South Boulevard joins it as yet another landmark going the way of the Dodo. The Pepsi plant has been a fixture on the site since 1938. The building was used as a bottling facility, but in recent years has been a distribution center. Pepsi built a new distribution center in Harrisburg and has already moved operations to their new site.
It has been in the works for a while, but Lennar Homes officially closed on the property for nearly $18 million. They plan to build 432 apartments and 26,000 square feet of street level retail on the 5.2 acre site. The new plan includes a six-story building with apartments, retail, and a nearly 800-space parking deck.
The plan includes five pedestrian-friendly, ground-floor retail spaces. These spaces will have direct access to the Blue Line and the Rail Trail. In fact, the Rail Trail is going to be the front door of the community with South Boulevard being a secondary entrance.
A later addition to the site will be a pedestrian crossing from South Boulevard to the Harris Teeter supermarket currently under construction across from the site. A public walkway connecting the site to the new pedestrian bridge will also be added.
Designed by Axiom Architecture and LandDesign, the design is much more promising than a lot of the recent projects in SouthEnd. The focus on the Rail Trail and pedestrian access is especially welcome. The hope is to get a tenant like “Earl’s Grocery” to anchor one of the retail spaces. Restaurants, bars and retail should round out the commercial portion of the project.
The residential portion of the project will have some ground level entry with stoops for an urban feel. Amenities should include fitness center, pool area and bike repair station.
There is even a nod to the history of the site in the color choices of red, white, and blue for Pepsi. If everything goes according to plan, look for the project to be finished in mid-2018.