Keystone Construction plans Madison Avenue retail center

A local developer is planning a retail strip center along Madison Avenue just south of downtown in a neighborhood that’s been
begging for investment for years.

The plans by Keystone Construction Corp. call for a 25,000-square-foot retail
center at 1400 Madison Ave., across the street from Sisters’ Place Restaurant. The 2.8-acre site now is home to three vacant
industrial buildings and one remaining wall from an old brick warehouse.

Keystone plans to seek Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design certification for the project, which also includes space for two outlot users. Demolition of the
old structures is scheduled for later this month.

A rendering of the project suggests the project could include
a pizzeria, cafe and other small shops. A state agency might also be interested in opening an office in the center, according
to a letter of support from the Concord Community Development Corp.

The project will make a huge difference for
the neighborhood, said Mark Flanary, the group’s executive director. For starters, it will remove several graffiti-covered
buildings and fix crumbling sidewalks. It also gives residents services they’ve gone without for years.

"We
haven’t had any essential goods and services in how many years? I can’t count," Flanary said. "This kind of development
is what we’ve wanted for a long time."

The project has won preliminary approval for a rezoning from heavy
industrial classification to community regional commercial. It still must win final approval from the City-County Council.

It’s not the first project along the Madison Avenue corridor for Keystone. The firm renovated an abandoned building
just to the north, at 1200 Madison, into 180,000 square feet of office space now anchored by the city’s Department of Metropolitan
Development and MDWise.

Keystone also built a 37,000-square-foot retail center at the corner of Madison and Hannah
avenues.