Dental Office Eyes Vacant Lot on Lincoln

The empty lot at the far end of Lincoln may see some new development, after plans for a dental office received preliminary approval from the Birmingham Planning Board.

Last Wednesday, the planning board passed along plans for an 8,260 square-foot dental office, to be located on the vacant lot at 2400 E. Lincoln.

The six-acre lot at the east end of Lincoln — near the Birmingham Ice Sports Arena, Kenning Park and the Goldfish Swim School — is the former site of the Stanley Door industrial complex. Plans to build condos and a baseball complex for Brother Rice fell through in 2005 and 2010, respectively.

According to Planning Director Jana Ecker, the proposed one-story dental office and surrounding parking lot is designed by Victor Saroki, of the Birmingham-based Victor Saroki & Associates. There are plans for a dentist, orthodonist and oral surgeon to move into the building.

The majority of the site — particularly the parcel south of Lincoln — would remain vacant and open to further development while a large part of the property would go toward building a road connecting East Lincoln to Cole Street, Ecker said.

Though the project received preliminary approval Wednesday, planning board members weren't pleased the plans didn't include any elements of mixed use development.

"This area is mixed use," said Planning Board Chairman Robin Boyle, referring to the Rail District. "There is no mixed use element to this development. This doesn't feel anything like the developments we have in the Rail District."

Planning board members were also concerned with the amount of parking. According to Saroki, there would be four separate parking lots constructed behind the dental office and the Goldfish Swim School building. The parking is needed, Saroki said, due to the current overflow at the swim club and the high traffic expected at the dental office.

"It's a sea of parking," planning board member Janelle Boyce.

Though he's not fully behind the project, Boyle admitted that building the connecting road between Lincoln and Cole was important. Saroki, meanwhile, said while the building may not be mixed use, it will serve as a catalyst for additional development.

"I see this as a district element as opposed to every building being a mixed-use building," Saroki said.