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Commissioner Nagler asked the applicants if they already had a sense of who might occupy the retail office space. Mr. Grant replied that both floors have been spoken for as a law office. Commissioner Nagler commented that, in fact, they do not anticipate this being a retail space. Mr. Grant said no, at this time. He noted, however, that as mentioned earlier, they want to ensure, in response to the request made in the event that it does eventually become retail, that it works that way separately without an interior corridor. Commissioner Nagler stated that his assumption would be that it is less critical for a law firm to have street visibility than for a retail operation because lawyers presumably do not rely on foot traffic to get their clients. He referred to Commissioner O'Connor's earlier question and noted that it is theoretically possible to meet the desire of the Downtown business district by having an office where the first living unit is currently located, and the street unit really be marketed for retail as a way to try to bring retail operations off of Main Street. Mr. Grant replied it is absolutely theoretically possible. He added, however, that the question still remains about how viable, how strong that space would be to a retail tenant, and their feeling is that it would not be really strong in that location. Commissioner O'Connor noted that the office now is buried behind the two -story retail building. He noted that right now there the office is roughly 2,000 square feet, and the building behind gives about the same space another 32 feet and the first one is 31 feet, for a total of about a depth of 60 feet. He suggested that the law office could be 2,000 square feet on the second floor, and the bottom could still be split from the front to be 50 feet to 60 feet deep and have two tenants. Mr. Grant replied that it is possible to do that, but it would change the project, and he does not know if that would make it a better project. Commissioner Nagler inquired, in the context of looking at the overall evolution and enhancement of the Downtown, if there is good reason to want the Downtown to spill over into side streets as a way to increase the retail activity. He noted that this building is a perfect opportunity to test the idea. Mr. Grant said yes, but they have to look at the other tenant next to them, which is a pest control office. He indicated that one has to get pretty close to First Street before one finds more retail. He added that if he were a retailer he would not go there. Commissioner O'Connor stated that the whole point is to try and spread retail down the side street. He indicated that somebody has to start at the corner which is fairly deep, and this site is the first one in line to start that process. He noted that they are buried in between a couple of pest control guys, and right next door is a food market. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 26, 2015 Page 30 of 43