Tiburon landlord wants to create new building where Main Street becomes Ark Row

A downtown commercial landlord wants to build a new one-story shop on lower Ark Row to create a “gateway” that draws patrons from Main Street, but the Tiburon Planning Commission is holding off on a decision to give neighbors more time to comment.

Zelinsky Properties, which is operated by Belvedere resident Laleh Zelinsky and owns most of the buildings on Ark Row, is proposing a new 1,042-square-foot retail building in the southwest corner of its Main Street parking lot, eliminating 11 parking spaces to the left of the entrance. The address, which does not yet exist, would be 70 Main St.

Project architect David Thompson said the building would be designed to look like many of the older buildings on Ark Row and would seek to bridge the gap between two shopping areas. There’s about a 250-foot walk around the corner and up the grade from The Caviar Co. at 46A Main St., the last building on the east side of the lot entrance, and 72 Main St. on Ark Row, which is currently vacant.

Juanita’s Landing, a small plaza named after Zelinsky’s late mother-in-law that’s off the stairway leading from the parking lot to upper Ark Row, would be relocated near the new building.

Community Development Director Dina Tasini told the commission she asked Zelinsky to consider building a two- or three-story structure that would contain housing on the top levels, but she said Zelinsky doesn’t want to do that.

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