Pickwick Plaza restaurant modifications continued after commission raises parking and circulation concerns

The Planning and Zoning Commission continued review of a request from Pickwick Properties LLC to modify prior approvals for a restaurant in the southern Ground Floor space of Building 3 in Pickwick Plaza.

Applicant representatives told the commission that prior valet-based solutions became financially impractical and proposed an alternative: keep the parking garage open for validated free parking (Level A to be used primarily for restaurant patrons) and create a new exit from Level A to the Building 3 courtyard, rather than routing patrons through the elevator lobby the commission had previously favored.

Owner/operator Angelo (Shartuni) said the property currently staffs a gate attendant on weekdays through early evening and that extending coverage to later dinner hours would be needed if the restaurant relies on garage access. “We already have a person at the gate all day long until 7 and all Saturday,” Shartuni said; he estimated the additional cost to extend staff and hours would be “around 60 to 70,000 as opposed to 300,000,” comparing the applicant’s estimates to outside valet-operator proposals.

Commissioners raised operational and circulation concerns: they said eliminating the elevator-lobby entrance would likely route more patrons onto Greenwich Avenue, worsen on-street searching for parking and create queuing at the entry gate. Several commissioners asked for detailed counts of spaces on Level A and Level B at different times of day, staffing plans for gate coverage that match restaurant hours, architectural drawings showing how the new courtyard exit would be built and whether grading/retaining-wall work is required, and a clearer operational plan for voucher/validation or automated entry that would prevent non-patrons from using the garage.

Planning staff and the applicant agreed the proposal needs more detailed materials before the commission can act; the applicant agreed to return with parking counts, staffing schedules, architectural elevations and a construction-detail plan showing the proposed Level A exit and any necessary retaining-wall or landscape modifications.