For the week of February 26 - March 4, 2003

P&Z to consider Paul’s Market remodel

Developers proposing new 
business center

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Hailey Planning and Zoning commissioners next week will consider an application to redevelop the downtown Hailey building that houses Paul’s Market into a retail shopping center.

Commissioners will discuss the proposal Monday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the Old County Courthouse in Hailey.

At issue is an application by Bullion Square LLC for design-review approval to convert the approximately 21,000-square-foot commercial structure at 117 Main St. into eight retail units.

The company is represented by Ketchum resident John Sofro, a member of Associated Brokers of Sun Valley. Sofro and a group of associates have entered into a contract to purchase the building, and expect the deal to close within the next month.

Located on Main Street between Bullion and Carbonate streets, the Paul’s building is one of most high-profile structures in Hailey.

As proposed, the building would offer seven commercial units that have frontage on Main Street, plus a smaller unit with frontage only on Carbonate Street. The development would include retail—and possibly restaurant—spaces that range in size from 700 to 7,000 square feet.

The developers intend to remodel the entire interior and construct a new set of varied facades along the 300-foot frontage on Main Street.

The planned design of the new facades will feature "turn-of-the-century" architecture, the application notes. Proposed materials include brick, stone and stucco.

The plan also calls for limited outdoor, patio-style seating and new landscaping.

Diane Shay, Hailey city planner, said the project would be "a great improvement over the building that’s there," but noted that some changes may be requested by the city.

She said the issue of greatest concern is the building’s south-end loading dock, which is situated in a manner that often causes large trucks to block vehicle traffic on Bullion Street.

In commenting on the project, Police Chief Brian McNary and Fire Chief Mike Chapman both expressed concern about the location of the loading dock, Shay said.

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