Walgreens Seeks Pharmacy At South Main/Mile Hill Corner

By Andrew Gorosko

A New York City developer has submitted an application to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to build a 13,972-square-foot Walgreens Pharmacy on the busy northern corner of South Main Street and Mile Hill Road.

Walgreens has long been interested in having a large pharmacy at the 47-49 South Main Street site. The site, which has been vacant for several years, formerly held Newtown Tire and Service, Newtown Oil Company, Trudeau Service Center, and Trudeau Oil Company, among other businesses.

The pharmacy site development firm, known as Newtown Main, LLC, would demolish the three existing structures on the property and replace them with a new two-level Walgreens. Sutphin Properties of Queens, N.Y., represented by managing member Robin Eshaghpour, is seeking to develop the property through Newtown Main, LLC.   

 Newtown Main, LLC, would purchase the property from current owner TB Newtown, LLC, after which the pharmacy would be constructed and then leased to Walgreens. The structure would contain 11,472 square feet of space on the main level and 2,500 square feet of space on an upper level. The site would have 60 parking spaces.

A July 2005 proposal to build a Walgreens Drug Store there, which was pursued by a another developer, did not materialize. That proposal included a request for drive-through window service, which proved to be a stumbling block for the project.

The P&Z would conduct a public hearing on the pending pharmacy development project at an upcoming session.

The site lies within the South Main Village Design District (SMVDD) zone.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing Newtown Main, LLC, in a June 5 letter to the P&Z, explains that the applicant is seeking P&Z approval for the pharmacy under the Special Development District (SDD) provisions of the SMVDD zoning regulations.

In July 2007, the P&Z created the SMVDD regulations as a mechanism to respectively preserve and promote the New England appearance of existing and proposed commercial development and redevelopment projects along South Main Street.

Those regulations provide the P&Z with certain controls concerning the design of new construction, substantial reconstruction, and the rehabilitation of properties, all of which are visible from public roads. The zoning rules allow the P&Z to more tightly control architectural designs, building placements, some traffic aspects of projects, and the maintenance of views from public places.

Broadly, the SMVDD regulations allow the P&Z and a developer to negotiate the specific zoning rules which apply to an individual commercial site.

The heavily traveled South Main Street corridor has seen continuing commercial development and redevelopment during the past several years.

Mr Hall explained that under the SDD regulations, the applicant will seek zoning rule changes that would allow it to build the specific project that it wants to construct.

The Walgreens proposal includes a drive-through pharmacy window at which customers would pick up their drug prescriptions.

P&Z members, however, have expressed concerns about the implications of allowing the firm to have  drive-through window service. P&Z members have said that allowing a pharmacy to have such a feature could adversely result in fast-food restaurants seeking to locate their stores in town with drive-through window service.

It is believed that the P&Z’s lack of a specific regulation that allows drive-through service has deterred fast food restaurants from locating here. The P&Z, however, has historically allowed banks to have drive-through service.

At a June 5 P&Z session, Mr Hall told P&Z members that Newtown Main, LLC, has had a traffic study performed to gauge a pharmacy’s effect on traffic in the area.

In its report, Atlantic Traffic & Design Engineers, Inc, of Warren, N.J., states that the presence of Walgreens Pharmacy “will not significantly impact traffic conditions in the vicinity of the site.”

Mr Hall told P&Z members that the developer has discussed the aesthetic aspects of the proposed construction with members of the town’s Design Advisory Board (DAB). That agency reviews such commercial construction projects, making recommendations to the P&Z on architectural and landscaping issues.

Issues affecting the Walgreens proposal’s include the drive-through window service, building height, and commercial signage.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean told Mr Hall that the SDD provisions of the SMVDD zoning regulations are not intended to allow developers to circumvent the intent of the zoning regulations.

The Walgreens proposal “doesn’t seem to fit the bill” of what P&Z members had in mind when they approved the SDD rules in 2007, Ms Dean said.

The developer was expected to present a revised Walgreens application to the P&Z for consideration.

Ms Dean said she wants to have the South Main/Mile Hill corner improved with new development, but added that she is not interested in a having a building there with drive-through service and a large commercial sign. The June 5 Walgreens application submitted to the P&Z includes a large Walgreens sign on the building’s roofline.

 If the P&Z were to allow Walgreens to have drive-through window service, it could become difficult for the agency to prohibit drive-through windows for other businesses, she said.

Mr Hall stressed that the developer’s specific application for a drive-through window for the pharmacy does not address providing drive-through service for fast-food restaurants.

P&Z member Jane Brymer suggested that the developer propose some “innovative” design that would not require the presence of a drive-through window on the property.

Ms Dean suggested that the developer submit a proposal that would not include a drive-through window, but which could physically allow for the potential construction of drive-through facilities at some point in the future.