Most of you have been inside the new Sendik’s by now. You’ve probably noticed that the big pieces are done. The store is open, the lot is striped, and traffic has started to settle into its new rhythm. You can also see that the landscaping, the traffic light at Silver Spring and Consaul, and the imminent opening of Tudi’s are still on the to-do list. Two smaller but noticeable items at opposite corners of the site are too: a pocket park, and a new “Village of Whitefish Bay” monument sign at Silver Spring Drive and Lake Drive.
A little green in the corner of the lot
The first is what Sendik’s has called a small pocket park tucked into the northwest corner of the Sendik’s parking lot. The renderings show a triangle of lawn crossed by a small curving walkway, with a few benches set among low hedges and shade trees. A black fence separates it from the parking lot behind it, and a lamppost stands at the corner. For those wondering about the old weather vane atop the former store, that item will call this corner its new home.
It won’t be a destination park, but it’ll be a place to sit for a few minutes with a coffee or wait for preschool to let out across the street.
The sign: a gateway to the Village
The second item generated significant discussion at the village level. The CDA, BID, ARC and Village Board all had input on the design (much of it differing!) and a final design has now been finalized. The sign will replace the former Whitefish Bay village sign at the intersection of Silver Spring and Lake Drive. A matching sign will also replace the current one at the corner of Silver Spring and Lydell when the Bank of America development is constructed in the coming years.
Negotiated alongside the infrastructure updates at both sites, the signs are being paid for by the private development projects, not by the village.
The board settled on one consistent design for the village monument signs with a distinct look rather than one that matches whichever building sits behind each sign. The final design includes:
- Red brick in a blended palette meant to complement nearby buildings, though not matching Sendik’s brick exactly
- Pyramid-style caps on the columns
- “Village of Whitefish Bay” centered on the sign face
- A blue village logo in the Blue Dukes royal blue
- “EST 1892” centered in the side column
There could be additional sign updates in the coming years with potential revisions to Lake Drive as well as the Hampton and Santa Monica intersection.
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