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New life at vacant corner store

The corner store at Venable and Tulip Streets, vacant for several years, has recently begun to get a facelift. Work was stopped by folks from zoning yesterday, though, as the project lacks the required Certificate for Appropriateness.

Neighbors fought and successfully limited the ABC license of an earlier proprietor at this location after showing that the store was a negative influence on the surrounding area.

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2014-07-16 12.46.52

16 comments

ann 07/17/2014 at 9:03 AM

What a hoot! Work was going on until after dark last night with a notice of violation ordering work to stop immediately plainly posted on the front of the building…

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Eric S. Huffstutler 07/17/2014 at 9:24 AM

Why did I not see this kind of notice go up on the 401 N 27th Street building, which still has a very old (couple of years) Condemned Notice on it? There were various violations which some were never fixed.

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J Taylor 07/17/2014 at 9:48 AM

Looks like that nice brick building at the corner of 21st and Venable is on the market for only $89k (red and blue building across from Great Hope).
Sure hope no one plans to try and open a convenience store there. all Convenience stores, except Mosby Mart, have failed since they have not been able to receive approval for liquor licensing. Lets not drop our guard on this one. It’s a really nice building and could be a boon to the community if renovated appropriately.

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Nearby neighbor 07/17/2014 at 11:10 AM

Guys have been working on this for a couple months now. Framing, sheet rocking, siding, etc…
This is being renovated to be turned into a convenience store. The work so far looks terrible. Even if it was appropriate for the neighborhood, the work is very unprofessional.

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ann 07/17/2014 at 5:33 PM

Heads up! A concerned neighbor took some photos at 2300 Venable of work being done in violation of a Notice of Violation/Stop Work Order. The guys doing the work called the cops, thinking that she was breaking a law. The cop came while we were harvesting things from my garden. When she and I stood on the sidewalk watching, the two men doing the work began to yell obscenities at us.

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Nearby neighbor 07/17/2014 at 7:37 PM

Yes they were definitely back out there today, business as usual.

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Eric S. Huffstutler 07/17/2014 at 8:14 PM

Has anyone contacted Planning and Zoning yet to report what is going on?

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crd 07/17/2014 at 9:16 PM

If you saw people there working,you should call the number listed on the notice. I enlarged the notice, and the person to contact is shown as Terry Hensley, 646-3726, and if you get her voice mail then call the general office at 646-6340. Or you can call Catherine Easterling at CAR at 646-7550, and if she’s in she is usually very responsive.

A little history: some years ago, there was a small house on 29th St. where there is now a private garden. The owner took it upon himself to build a deck as I recall, and do a bunch of other work,none of it with the appropriate permissions. Still he continued to do work. The city issued a stop work order. He continued to do work. The police were called in at some point, but he still continued, until he cracked the foundation and the entire house was cracked and torn down. Hence, we now have a private garden, where someone purchased the then vacant lot. You folks that are watching this property please take heed, and report the unauthorized activity, or you may end up with a vacant lot.

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Eric S. Huffstutler 07/18/2014 at 8:19 AM

Shoddy work can be both unsightly as well as dangerous. It has to be approved and inspected. If they buck the system it is illegal activity and needs to be reported. You can request to remain anonymous to the owners.

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Nearby Neighbor 07/23/2014 at 11:33 PM

These guys were back out finishing the unapproved siding today. Stop work orders appeared to still be posted.

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