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Board continues Padel club plans at 502 Park Place, asks for design, lighting and neighborhood outreach details
Summary
The Historic Preservation Board continued a certificate of appropriateness and variance request for a proposed Padel/health club at 502 Park Place, asking the applicant to return with refined façade materials, lighting specifics and evidence of neighborhood outreach.
The Historic Preservation Board on March 25 continued review of a proposed Padel and health club at 502 Park Place and asked the project team to return with more detailed drawings showing exterior materials and the court lighting, plus documentation of neighborhood outreach.
The applicant seeks a certificate of appropriateness for a roughly 3,700-square-foot health and fitness facility with seven Padel courts and a variance to allow court enclosures above the four‑foot front‑setback height limit. The club's plans call for glass court enclosures set behind a landscaped street edge, standing‑seam metal roofing, vertical wood slats at the entry pavilion and decorative ironwork that the team described as inspired by historic rail‑side buildings.
Architect Kyle Fant (Bartholomew Architects) told the board the design aims for a compact, residential‑scale structure that recalls local railroad architecture with modern materials. The team said the court enclosures must be taller than ordinary front fences to meet the sport's play and safety standards and that they have modeled lighting and photometrics for the site to meet city standards.
Board members praised the project's effort to re‑activate a long‑vacant lot in the Flamingo Park historic district but pressed the applicant on three areas before the board will make a design determination:
- Lighting: Several commissioners said they want a specific fixture design and a photometric plan showing how light will fall on adjacent residential properties and the railroad corridor. The board requested a clear elevation and catalog specification for the tall court lights so members can judge aesthetic compatibility with the historic district in addition to lumen levels.
- Materials and detailing: Commissioners asked for alternatives to the proposed vertical slat material so the building reads as tailored to the local context. Members suggested options that reference nearby corrugated metal and rail‑related precedents while avoiding a look that appears generic or out of scale with adjacent houses.
- Neighborhood outreach: Multiple board members said they were surprised that most written support in the packet came from businesses or entities with the same mailing address; they asked the team to document outreach to adjacent homeowners and to provide minutes or an email from the Flamingo Park neighborhood association showing board or committee feedback.
Staff noted the project must also obtain site plan review approval from the city's Plat & Plan Review Committee (PPRC), which will evaluate traffic, lighting photometrics, and other engineering matters. Several commissioners urged the applicant to coordinate the PPRC engineering requirements with the historic‑district aesthetic guidance the board will provide.
The board continued the certificate of appropriateness and variance requests to its April 22 meeting and listed the specific items above as what the applicant must provide by the next submittal.
