For Lisa Martin, the owner of Rolling Bay Land Company, the development proposed for the north side of the Rolling Bay “town square” is her first commercial development venture. But she is trying to “do everything right.”
For one thing, she said she wants to hear what people want to see in the space. She’s already listened to the community through the comments gathered so far by the neighborhood group Friends of Rolling Bay and voiced at an informal meeting held last year in the community. Martin said people talked about wanting gathering spaces, adding residences, and bringing a restaurant and office space to the neighborhood.
For another thing, she wants it to be green. Martin is the developer behind the first LEED-certified home built on the Island, the Valley Farm Home. And she’s got a good thing going with architect Russ Hamlet of Studio Hamlet, which is also based in Rolling Bay. Hamlet was the architect on the Valley Farm Home, the energy efficient office space of RBLC, and the energy-smart Rolling Bay Cottages, another RBLC project.
The proposed development is intended for the last remaining commercial parcel in Rolling Bay, which Martin bought last year. And here’s the third thing she wants to do right: The sheep and chickens and other animals that currently occupy the land will not be evicted, she said. She wants to help Teri Cole, the former owner of the land, find homes for the animals if she has any trouble doing so.
Martin said this project will be a slow build so there’s lots of time to continue to do things right.
The proposed project is a three-building, mixed-use development on two acres. Martin called it a “pretty exciting and dynamic combo of retail, office and residential.” She said it will be “very reasonable in scale.”
The project will “define the northern edge of the town square,” the open area to the west of the intersection of Valley and Sunrise that abuts with the Jiffy Mart and Via Rosa. Martin said the buildings will “play off the look of Bay Hay and Feed.”
The development would include a big courtyard and two other large open-space areas. There would be a “big meadow at the top.” It’s too early to say what would go in the buildings but Martin said “maybe a bakery, maybe an eating place,” two upstairs apartments, and two townhomes.
When asked if there would be a bar in the development, Martin sounded surprised and said, “We haven’t gone in the bar direction,” but she added she would be open to hearing what people wanted.
She and Hamlet will be seeking Net Zero Energy Building certification through the Living Building Challenge and “pushing environmental and sustainability goals,” with a focus on energy and water.
Martin stressed the importance of the community showing up to offer their opinions about the proposal at a June 16 meeting at the Grange. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. Martin and Hamlet will share their thoughts and then elicit feedback. Martin said, “I believe it will be a really nice asset to the neighborhood. I encourage people to come and give thoughts.”
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Images courtesy of Studio Hamlet.
