It looks like the Georgetown neighborhood will finally get what it’s always wanted: a bowling alley.
Pinstripes, Inc. now has permission to move forward with plans to build an upscale bowling alley in the Georgetown Park Mall after receiving both unanimous approval Tuesday from the Board of Zoning Adjustment and reaching an agreement with the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E and nearby residents.
The three members of the BZA said they felt comfortable approving the venue because the Georgetown Parks Condominium owners association, Pinstripes, and Vornado, a real estate investment company and landlord of Georgetown Parks, came to the board with an agreement, according to the Georgetown Patch. Pinstripes is planning to build a two-story, 28,000-foot indoor bowling alley with bocce courts, an Italian-American restaurant, a private event facility, and an outdoor patio near the canal.
The residents were concerned with noise coming from the bowling alley, because of its plans for serving alcohol, the outdoor area, and the event facility, according to Martin Sullivan, the attorney for the Georgetown Parks owners association. Bill Starrels, vice-chair of the ANC, said they were also concerned that the venue would cater to a large drinking crowd.
“The agreement is very far reaching, and I think it offers up a lot of protections for the residents,” Starrels said.
These issues were all met in the agreement to the residents’ and the ANC’s satisfaction, according to Sullivan and Starrels. The agreement requires “soundproofing to the extent deemed necessary for the protection of adjoining and nearby property,” Sullivan said. Conditions also specify that amplified music and other mechanically-produced sounds should not be heard by residents and that residents should only be able to hear “human voices” in the outdoor areas.
A sound expert for Pinstripes testified at the BZA hearing that the “goal is this is essentially inaudible,” according to the Georgetown Patch.
With this issue settled, the Georgetown Park Condo Association withdrew its opposition to the BZA application once Vornado and Pinstripes agreed to the conditions.
In addition to sound-proofing the venue, Starrels said the hours of operation have been shortened for both the indoor and outdoor areas. He said the patio will close down at 10 p.m. on weekends. The agreement also went beyond the conditions that the BZA might have required, such as the limitation of the patio use, according to Sullivan.
The conditions in the agreement will also help strengthen the requirements of the liquor license, as Pinstripes moves forward in attaining the Georgetown Board’s approval of its architectural plans and its ABC liquor license approval, according to Starrels.
“A lot of hard work went into this, and the end result is strong,” Starrels said.
Sullivan said the Condo Board hopes this type of cooperation is “a sign of better things to come.” He also complimented Dale Schwartz, the Pinstripes founder and CEO, on his cooperation in the matter.
“Everybody ended up on the same page,” Starrels said. “It just took a lot of work.”
