LEGO store seeks move to former gallery

BrickSpace, a, LEGO retail store and learning center, may be the new tenant at 621 First St., former site of a cooperative artists studio that moved to 309 First St.

Fary Koh will ask Tuesday for a use permit so BrickSpace can move from 946 Tyler St. to the vacant building owned by David Hayer, Amy Million, principal planner, wrote in a May 4 report.

“BrickSpace is a LEGO learning center with a retail store for LEGO and similar type products,” Million wrote.

Employees use the toy bricks and other educational products for project-based activities that teach children about science, technology, engineering, mathematics, creative writing and presentation skills, she wrote.

The business has been operating in Benicia since 2012, and Million wrote its operation at the new site would be similar, with regularly-scheduled drop-in hours and enrichment classes, as well as spring, summer and winter break camps, parents’ nights out and weekend birthday parties.

Koh is asking to operate the business from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mondays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, depending on birthday parties and workshops.

The property’s zoning, Downtown Mixed Use Master Plan, doesn’t have a specific approved category that fits BrickSpace’s business model, Million wrote.

“BrickSpace is a learning center for children, but is not a certified school or day care facility. They provide an enrichment program using LEGO products, which are also available for sale at the center.

“This use is more of a hybrid of several uses, including general retail, studios and schools,” she wrote.

“As such, it was determined that the appropriate process for the proposed use would be Minor Use Permit approval.”

Because the business is occupying only the lower floor, or 2,200 square feet, of the building, it isn’t required to provide off-street parking, Million wrote.

She recommended approval of the permit request.

The zoning administrator hearing will start at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Commission Room of City Hall, 250 East L St.