Bainbridge Conversation

Apartments, a gym and a community swimming pool are all part of the proposed second phase of Pleasant Beach Village at Lynwood Center. A public meeting was held for neighbors of the project on Monday night.

You can see more designs for the second phase below, courtesy Wenzlau Architects:

Pre-App Presentation(Kitsap Sun)_low Res by tsooter

Here’s the Friday preview: Bainbridge edition for Oct. 19. Feel free to give your events a plug in the comment section below. Read the Sun’s regional Friday preview here. Above, a screenshot from “Caldera,” one of the films playing at Celluloid Bainbridge this weekend.

Weather: The National Weather Service is predicting an uninspiring mix of clouds and showers for the weekend. Expect highs in the low 50s and lows in the low 40s.

Sports:  Spartans football took a drubbing from O’Dea last night in the rain. Water polo plays Kentridge Saturday at the Aquatics Center. The full Spartans schedule is online.

Around the island: 

• The Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival headlines a very busy weekend on the island. Veteran documentarians discuss making films in remote locations at 6 p.m. tonight at the Bainbridge Library. Festival films will be screened at the Historic Lynwood Theatre on Saturday and Sunday. Check the Bainbridge Arts and Humanities Council website for more information.

• Families looking for a not-so-scary October event will appreciate the Bainbridge Gardens Pumpkin Walk. The tour runs 6-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Miller Road gardens. Donations will be accepted for the Boys and Girls Club.

• Former poet laureate Billy Collins will hold a public reading from 3-4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Bainbridge High School gym. Tickets start at $10 and proceeds benefit the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.

• Pick up this week’s Islander for more event listings and tell us about your events in the comment section below.

Inside the Islander: Ever wonder how Bainbridge roads got their names? A new Islander column explores the history and legend of island streets.

The week in review: 

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates throughout the week. Contact Bainbridge reporter Tad Sooter at tad.sooter@gmail.com.

Steve Romein and his wife Ty Cramer earned a special commendation from the Bainbridge Historic Preservation Commission for their work rehabilitating the Lynwood Center building and preserving two south Bainbridge farms.

“Steve and Ty have set an excellent example for other developers to follow and made our community a better place in which to live,” the city commission said in a statement after awarding the couple the commission’s first Blakely Award for preservation leadership. The commission plans to give the award on an annual basis.

The commission also recognized the Bainbridge park district with a Blakely Award in the “project of excellence” category for its work to restore the cabin at Camp Yeomalt Park.

In 2007, Romein and Cramer began pouring money into fixing up and expanding the decaying Lynwood Center building in a manner that fit its 1930s-era Tudor style.

“In their renovation efforts, Ty and Steve chose to do so in a way that it would retain its original historic integrity,” the commission said. “The Lynwood Center neighborhood has been revitalized by their efforts.”

Early this year, Romein and Cramer purchased an Old Mill Road farm with the goal of preserving it as farmland and to develop a trail connecting to other public pathways. They also plan to rehabilitate two 19th-century farmhouses on the property.

The pair then purchased an even larger farm that island preservation groups have had their eye on for years. Romein and Cramer plan to put farmers to work on the land, develop a farming education program with nearby Blakely Elementary and set aside a portion as preserved open space.

You can read my profile of Steve Romein here.

Lynwood Center was recently profiled in the the Seattle Times’ real estate section.

Here’s a taste:

“The area’s old-fashioned, small-town feel is cherished by residents, who relish walking their dogs or riding bikes near the winding roads surrounded by forest.”

Some of the folks at Treehouse, Pane d’Amore, and Buckley and Buckley Real Estate helped paint a picture of what life’s like in the south-end neighborhood.

Buying a piece of Lynwood Center will likely cost between $385,000 and $1 million, according to the Times.

Read the article HERE.

Photo: Seattle Times

With a lot of rumors circulating about the demise of the Blossom Hill project, I called up its developer, Bill Nelson, last week to see what’s what.

Nelson called the rumors “ludicrous” and “silly.”

Despite some serious financial problems and a months of inactivity at the Lynwood Center site, he isn’t ready to declare the project dead.

“We’re taking it day by day,” he said.

Of course, the other big question – besides whether or not the project will be finished – is how all that new commercial space along Lynwood Center Road will be filled.

Read more here.

On Tuesday, I reported on the city cracking down on a breadmobile that’s been selling artisan bread and pastries from a Lynwood Center parking lot. If you haven’t yet, read the story here.

The breadmobile’s predicament sparked quite a response from its fans, from Kitsap Sun readers and from Treehouse Cafe owner Arnie Sturham, who announced today that breadmobile driver/bread seller Elliott Yakush is welcome to set up shop in a corner of Treehouse starting Monday.

Rumor has it a Seattle TV station has caught wind and is on its way.

Until then, you can read on (below) for my update on the breadmobile saga.

(more…)

Looks like Bainbridge Conversation readers are sharply divided over what Lynwood Center’s new name should be.

After two weeks of polling, the votes show “Walt’s Town,” “The Other, Better Lynwood, Not The One North of Seattle,” and “The Historical, Fantastical, Magical Lynwood Center” netted an equal amount of support.

Now what? I guess the proponents of each of the three winning names will just have to fight it out on the streets. I suggest all 27 of you meet at noon on Saturday at that big gravel lot across from the Treehouse Cafe to have it out. Rain or shine. The winners can then take it up at the next council meeting for formal re-naming approval. If the council balks or brings up some section in Robert’s Rules of Order, simply wave your bloodied fists for added emphasis.

Surprisingly, “Springfield” came in second, with six votes. “Tree House City” and “Schel-chelbton” (my pick) drew two votes each. “Tudorburg” got one and “Tudorsville” got nothing.

Port Townsend-based bakers Pane d’Amore is setting up shop between Lynwood Theatre and the Treehouse Cafe.

I just got an e-mail from the bakery’s future manager, Elliott Yakush, who says he plans to open in early February, after the building’s renovations are completed.

Until then, the bakery’s truck will serve up fresh bread and pastries in front of its future location every Monday from 12 to 4 p.m. starting Oct. 5.

“It’ll be a good way to get to know the community I’ll be selling bread and living in,” Yakush said.

Pane d’Amore’s has two other locations: in Port Townsend’s Uptown district and on 5th Avenue in Sequim.

Sunset likes the bakery. In its June issue, the magazine noted Pane d’Amore as part of the reason the town is “poised to become the Northwest’s next culinary destination.”

By the way, Port Townsend’s gourmet offerings make it the “Paris of the Olympic Peninsula,” according to Sunset. With Pane d’Amore coming to the island, what will that make Bainbridge? Why, the “Paris of the Kitsap Peninsula,” of course. Sorry Bremerton (“The Detroit of the Kitsap Peninsula), and Poulsbo (“The Leavenworth of the Kitsap Peninsula”) and Silverdale (“The Tacoma Mall of the Kitsap Peninsula”).