Wickenden Street, #387

About this Property

#Proposal

Land owner Bahman Jalili razed the previous house on this property — the mural-covered Aqua Life Aquarium building — in 2019. He then sought permission from the City Plan Commission to construct a new apartment building starting in late October that year. Several neighbors testified as opposed, but construction permission was still granted as the developer met the requirements to proceed to the next phase.

The Commission recommended that developer and neighbors meet to begin a dialogue.¹ The Fox Point Neighborhood Association expressed interest in meeting, but we are unsure if those ever took place. We assume they did not, because it is hard to believe that the design was worse and got better with conversation.

#Design Reception

William Morgan mentions this construction briefly as part of his overview of new construction in Fox Point and how the neighborhood is changing. He says in a photo caption:

A scale-busting and formless box inserts its overwhelming bulk into the community at the corner of Wickenden and Hope Streets. ²

While we largely agree that the design is bland and the scale large, we take the most issue with the store in the retail space, the Diamond Bar. For one, is that what this neighborhood needs? A diamond store? Are we that pretentious and rich, really? Second, the proprietor decided that their stock is too precious to be seen but outside eyes, so the all of the windows are blocked up with dark window decals. It is just such a one-hundred-eighty-degree switch from the previous storefront, the fish store, which was a colorful and inviting place in the neighborhood.