Submitted by Sam Ahn.
I own the Lucky Food Store on Hipkins Rd, and for the past 14 months, my life has been a constant question: When will this end? When the city told us the construction would start on September 2023 and wrap up by early 2024 (as even see on the road improvements bulletin on the City of Lakewood’s website), I took them at their word. We thought we could bear the temporary inconvenience, that it’d be tough but manageable if it meant better roads and access in the future. But now, with the 14 months passed, road closed due to construction still going on from time to time, it feels like we’re just hanging on, waiting without information.
I never expected things to get this hard. Business has slowed to a crawl. As a small business owner who has been working, the customers I used to see every day—the regulars who would stop in on their way to work or during a lunch break—just can’t make it in like they used to. Road closures and construction zones have made it nearly impossible for them to get to us, and for months, I’ve watched my revenue trickle away. All told, we’ve lost close to $730,000 in business. That’s money we depend on to support my family and keep our doors open. My family has been pouring money into the business to keep it going.
My family and I worked hard to build this business after buying it from the previous owner in 2019. Most of our regulars will know that the place has been given a new look because we put in countless hours to create a place that would serve our community and sustain our family. It’s more than just a job—it’s our livelihood, our future. And now, with the city’s timeline seeming being pushed further and further back, it feels like there isn’t an answer.
I’ve tried reaching out for answers. We’ve asked the workers and the city to tell us when this will end, what we can expect, and if there’s anything they can do to help us survive these losses. But so far, I haven’t heard anything concrete—just the same vague promises that the project is “almost done.” But “almost” doesn’t pay our bills or bring back our customers.
The toll has been huge, not only financially but emotionally. We’ve held on, trying to keep going despite the mounting challenges, but we need support. The city has to recognize what this has done to us and other businesses on Hipkins Rd, to the lives and livelihoods hanging in the balance.
At this point, all I want is clarity—a timeline, a definitive end date, and some kind of recognition of what we’ve been through. I’m just hoping we can get back to normal and start rebuilding. Until then, we’ll keep our doors open as best we can, holding on and hoping for the day when this construction is finally over.
I am truly sorry to hear about your misfortune. It is not good, and for whatever it matters, I agree with you.
I do not think the City of Lakewood considera any other players in their “game” of “road improvement” and sidewalks.
I do not think they ever have.
They go about their ,”games”, irregardless of any consequences that they make for others.
It bothers me that all these “sidewalk” improvement projects have taken away property owner’s land, and also eliminated any prospect of easing the traffic problems by taking away a lane of roadway and calling it a sidewalk instead. (Gravelly Lake Dr).
This Hipkins Rd. mess has severely ruined your business, and you should be receiving a stipend like we did during Covid.
I understand how badly this treatment of ignoring your questions makes you feel. There isn’t the same “community” feeling here like there used to be.
I think it would be a very good incentive to start a donation for your store,
Maybe Korsmo construction could start one for you.
Thank you for speaking out, and good luck.
I and my family have lived on Hipkins for 70+ years. While I enjoy the sidewalks and the safety they provide all the pedestrians the ONLY other absolute joy has been the road closure and the effect on traffic. However, removing the chicane has had the horrible impact by once again providing a mile long racetrack. Don’t be fooled that the single roundabout has had any effect other than adding to the cost of these “improvements”. There is NO longer a parking strip so lawn care companies routinely park, and block, the traffic lane forcing vehicles to cross over into the oncoming lane. Residents seem to routinely just park ON the sidewalk. Add that, the immature drivers who speed up and down Hipkins at more than double the speed limit, and NO enforcement of any traffic laws, it’s only a matter of time before someone dies in a horrific crash.
And the effects of all the businesses along our north end has been universally negative.
The ridiculous addition of group mail boxes in a seemingly random pattern has helped no one. We can’t even get an answer over when they will go into effect.
I also agree 100% that communication from the city is non-existent. NOTHING about this “project” is as advertised. Nothing.
Mr. Ahn:
I’m sad to hear about the City of Lakewood’s lack of action in responding to a good citizen’s concerns, especially when you are truly an asset to our city. It is just one more example of “Dubious Moves” the city has made lately.
Being a 20+-year resident, I will make an extra effort to frequent your store, and I’m hoping that many of my fellow Lakewood citizens will do the same…..construction or no construction!
My first thought as well was to make a point in utilizing Mr Ahn’s store when I can. I had been utilizing the Walgreens more, the Jack in the Box, and E-Stop espresso in an effort to keep them in business though many times it’s been a struggle just to get to them. I strongly encourage our neighbors to do the same.
The times I’ve contacted the person in charge of road construction I’ve been given faulty information. A friend’s driveway was blocked for over a week. She couldn’t go around a blockade, it was a sudden drop off. The person told me that couldn’t be. It is this way all over the city. They start a project then for some unexplainable reason, oops, they can’t finish. To wit the traffic light on Ardmore. Keep up the good work fellas!
I see the inconvenience,lack of access to your place, as I have to go to the drive-thru at Walgreens. This has also been a challenge. Perhaps the City of Lakewood could help you by not charging you whatever taxes or whatever they do to businesses for this period of inability to reach you. I don’t know how much that would help.
I do not want to take away from Mr. Ahn’s real pain that he’s describing. Please don’t let me do that. He’s making an important point about communication. We should all go do business at his place.
I just want to briefly link this to another issue. I don’t want to take away from his specific issue, but the connection is important.
The Lakewood City Council recently discussed expanding the tax exemption that encourages developers to turn parcels into more housing. They told the Planning Commission that the council wanted them to consider adding parts of Oakbrook. I’m not sure if they specifically included this parcel, though it does appear on a map in the council packet last month. If you want to look up the map I’m talking about, it’s on page 93 of the Oct. 14 City Council packet.
So you could argue that what the city wants is for this business to go away and become more housing. That is, based on what I’m hearing at city discussions, apparently a better use of land in the eyes of some people.
The date of the planning commission hearing has not been set.
I don’t say this to put any pressure on Mr. Ahn. We are a long way from anything happening on this parcel because of any change like that.
But it does make you wonder if the property owner would have been treated differently if they had been a housing developer.
It’s done. Now you have a nice new road and a new sidewalk for your customers. Hard times aren’t always bad. More often, a bleeding.
Can you and others that have been impacted sue the city for damages?i Have never been to your store but next time I am in the area I will stop by. Good luck.
Simply saying…I am from your local neighborhood and I will support your business for necessities, as I have in the past. People need to know you are open and convenient to get to, however you are correct the incomplete Hipkins Road is hurting your businesses. Or how they finished it ? Please help them or if you have make it transparent 🤷🏻♀️
We appreciate the frustration expressed by this business owner in their letter. We know businesses and homeowners/residents in this area, as well as the commuters who travel Hipkins, were inconvenienced while the work was done on the road the first half of this year.
The City would like to provide some additional context, so people understand the work that was done, why the project took as long as it did, and when the road in front of this business reopened.
The road closed to through traffic Dec. 11, 2023. Access to this business was maintained throughout the closure. In an effort to lessen the impact, for the first 5 ½ months of the project the contractor removed half of the road at a time to provide paved access for vehicles to access residential and business properties. While access was still available, we understand that people were avoiding the area and that negatively impacted businesses.
The roadway section fronting this business reopened on July 15. It was not closed again until the night of Oct. 10. That closure was 6 hours overnight to stripe the road. That is the last time the road was closed in front of the business.
There was a closure this week at the North Way roundabout about a 1/2 mile from this business. That was so utility provider Lumen could patch around a manhole in the roundabout. That required the southbound lane be closed at the roundabout location. That closure was not in front of this business and did not block access to the business. It was not a city closure.
We also want to make sure people understand WHY the Hipkins project and projects on Washington Boulevard and Gravelly Lake Drive took so long to complete. To be efficient, the city partnered with the Lakewood Water District to encourage them to install a new water main at the same time the city planned to have the roads under construction for improvements. If we hadn’t partnered, the city’s portion of the work – the road improvements – would have been done a lot faster. But, that also means if the water main were to fail, the road would be shut down with no warning or pre-planning, resulting in much bigger impacts to everyone.
For awareness, 75% of the time spent on this project was tied to the water main replacement and not the city’s portion of the project.
Water mains are critical for our daily lives and when they fail the impact is significant. We’ve seen three water main breaks in the last couple of years in Lakewood, which is why we proactively worked with the water district to get replacements done at the same time we have the road torn up for our safety improvement projects. Hipkins Road had an old asbestos concrete pipe as its water main. Those are the pipes that have failed recently in the city. It needed to be replaced before it broke.
As we plan for future road improvements in the city, we’ll continue to look to partner with our area utilities to increase efficiency, which saves money and lessens the impact on the community.
We also do what we can to try to lessen the immediate impact on the businesses and residences that fall within a project area, but we know no matter what we do, there will be inconveniences and loss of business and we understand the frustrations expressed.