BEDFORD – The Bedford City Council voted on Monday to approve a request from Josh Lewis, who now owns the former Kingpin Bowl/Broadview Bowl at 2519-2531 29th Street to rezone the property in order for him to tear down the current building and build storage units on the property.
The property, previously zoned as a B-1 Convenience District, has now been changed to a I-1 Industrial District.
In his previous request to the Bedford Redevelopment Commission, who approved this change before it wa sent to the council, Lewis said that the building is now beyond repair and is unable to be repaired, as sections of the roof have collapsed, the basement has filled with water and the building is infested with mold.
Brandon Woodward, Planning and Zoning Director for the City of Bedford reiterated previous concerns over the structural integrity of the building to the council, saying the property’s collapsed roof has created weak points that have allowed break-ins.
“This building is deteriorating worse and worse every day. There are more holes in the roof than there were in the beginning when we first started this process. There are areas that can be gained by anybody from the outside and I was just informed by him today that he recently, just within the last few days, had another break-in so that’s a total of three altogether since we started this process with the planning commission,” Woodward said.
Lewis plans to demolish the building following the council’s approval on Monday. He will use the property to house over 300 storage units, which will be both accessible and monitored by security 24 hours a day. The approval vote was contingent on Lewis installing fencing on the North and West sides of the property.
