Project of the Month: DiMarco Constructors contracted to renovate 57,137 s/f Tops supermarket at Brighton Plaza; Philip Michael Brown Studio re-brands the exterior façades of Tops Anchor and Tops Brighton Plaza

Tops Markets has contracted with DiMarco Constructors to perform renovations to their existing 57,137 s/f Tops supermarket, including interior renovations and a 2,200 s/f addition. The Tops Brighton Plaza landlord Neu Lac de Ville Associates and Tops Markets are collaborating on updating the entire plaza. Also under construction are exterior façade renovations and improved pedestrian access along the storefront and parking field. Tops anticipates completing their renovations by the end of September. The DiMarco Group is completing the necessary approvals to perform similar exterior improvements along the balance of the remaining 85,000 s/f retail plaza. The developer proposes a complete façade renovation and hardscape/landscape upgrades along the rest of the plaza. The proposed improvements will bring an enhanced pedestrian experience including benches, amenities and outdoor dining areas. The DiMarco Group anticipates completing approvals by the end of July and commencing construction on the improvement in August of this year. "The design concept for the exterior façade re-design of the Tops anchor and Tops Plaza in Brighton, N.Y. is to re-brand the image of the 1980's strip mall center into a contemporary lifestyle retail center without any typological reconfiguration - i.e., solely through the means of façade and site/landscaping improvements. Critical to this end is the appropriation of roof/canopy and wing wall elements to give the appearance of architectural volume and mass in place of the typical "parapet cut-out shapes" that have become ubiquitous in retail strip mall design as well as through the use of a vernacular material palette with accent materials worked into the scheme in a cost effective manner," said Philip Michael Brown, owner/principal of Philip Michael Brown Studio. Located at 1900 Clinton Ave. South, Tops Brighton Plaza offers 139,700 s/f of retail space on 14.3 acres of property. Tops Brighton Plaza Project Team: Anchor Tenant Tops Markets Architect TRM Architects Civil Engineer CHA Construction Manager DiMarco Constructors Exterior Façade Design Consultant Philip Michael Brown Studio Developer Neu Lac de Ville Associates/The DiMarco Grp.