Designers of The Rekhi hope the mixed-used development will give motorists passing through Lake City reason to pause. The project replaces the businesses that were destroyed in a fire a year and half ago. After a fire destroyed core businesses at the intersection of Northeast 125th Street and Lake City Way Northeast, Mayor Paul Schell urged property owners Jo and Rani Rekhi to consider a mixed-use development. To cut down on traffic and foster more livable neighborhoods, officials throughout the region have been pushing such projects. That this could happen in car-crazy Lake City may seem unlikely, but the project designers say it is not.
Trees already dot the area, which also has sidewalks and a pedestrian crosswalk.
These features slow traffic on Lake City Way, and designers came up with a tall building with decks as a means of prompting motorists to realize people live in the area and further let up on the gas pedal. If there was any corner that would make a nice downtown this is it. Simpson said the retail portion of The Rekhi, with its high ceilings, wide awnings and corner plaza, will encourage patrons to linger. Tully's Coffee will be the corner tenant. The corner treatment reflects the ubiquitous pole-supported dealership signs that march down both sides of Lake City Way.