The design of a proposed building that would house a bike shop at First Street and Ashworth Road would include bright colors and bold patterns, a West Des Moines city official said. Rendering provided by city of West Des Moines

The proposed design of a bicycle shop proposed for First Street and Ashworth Road, an entryway into West Des Moines, got a tepid reception from one City Council member this week.

Erik’s Bike Shop, currently at 301 Grand Ave., is moving because of redevelopment in the area. A design team submitted architectural renderings of a proposed new building that includes gray and white checkerboard pattern with red accents.

Architectural styles for new buildings in the area must fall into one of three categories, Linda Schemmel, the city’s development coordinator, said during a meeting this week of the West Des Moines Development and Planning Subcommittee: midcentury modern, roadside architecture, and doo wop, also known as Googie, which was popular in the 1930s through 1960s.

“Erik’s Bike Shop is the first [new development] that wants to pursue the Googie architecture,” Schemmel said. “It is very bright colors; very bold patterns … so it will stand out.”

City Council member Matthew McKinney, one of two council members on the subcommittee, said he was contacted by a constituent who raised concerns about the design of the proposed building.

Schemmel said most of the exteriors of the other buildings in the area are composed of brick or other masonry products whose colors are typically warm shades of browns or dark reds.

McKinney asked whether the exterior construction materials used on buildings in the area should all be similar.

Schemmel said the city could ask that similar construction materials or colors be used in the exterior of the proposed structure.

But, she added, “It’s difficult for them to pull in those style elements from their neighbors and still keep that architecture.”

The proposed building meets the minimum requirements for the area, Schemmel said. “We haven’t been that strict on making sure that everything is cohesive.”

Schemmel added that the city staff could share with the design team for Erik’s Bike Shop that the proposed design was not embraced enthusiastically by the council subcommittee and ask if the design could be more consistent with surrounding area.

The project must go before other city committees before reaching the City Council.

“By then, it could be completely different,” she said.