Bar 145 Patio Approved by Architecture, Planning Boards

Starting next week foodies will get the chance to try Bar 145, downtown Kent's newest gastropub, but it will be several more months before its outdoor patio is ready for business.

Jeremy Fitzgerald, owner of Bar 145, told members of the Kent Architectural Review Board Tuesday afternoon they are planning a soft opening for the bar on East Erie Street as early as next week.

"Hopefully it will be open to the public by the 18th or 19th," Fitzgerald said.

The architecture board voted on plans presented by Fitzgerald to add an enclosed, outdoor patio to the the bar — much like Panini's in the new Davey Tree Building — which is located on the first floor, northeast corner of the AMETEK building.

Members of the architecture board voted unanimously to issue the project a certificate of appropriateness after suggesting several changes to the design of the 22 feet by 30 feet patio, which will incorporate "countertop height" rolling glass garage doors that can be opened during warmer months.

The patio addition will require alterations to an existing canopy on the corner of the building.

Architecture board members expressed a desire to see the addition facade redesigned so that it looks like less of an addition and more like part of the original building's design.

"It appears as a stuck-on piece, which it effectively is," architecture board member Howard Boyle said. "You put so much thought into the building. It's too bad it wasn't designed as part of the original building."

Fitzgerald agreed to several changes recommended by the board, including adjusting the height and using brick and stone work to mimic that of the AMETEK building's facade.

"Our goal is to make it look like it's not an add-on," he said. "It is a beautiful building. The last thing we want to do is ruin it."

The Kent Planning Commission also voted on the projected Tuesday evening and approved it.