Steel Framework Erected

For Highland Plaza

By Andrew Gorosko

The developer of the planned Highland Plaza on South Main Street is in negotiations to bring a new restaurant and retail uses to the site, which formerly was occupied by The Fireside Inn.

Robert Cascella, a broker for Coldwell Banker Commercial, said July 3 that the developer of the project, Highland HC, LLC, is in talks with both potential restaurant and retail tenants for the property now under redevelopment at 121-125 South Main Street. Mr Cascella declined to identify any of the potential tenants for the plaza.

The delivery of steel and its erection for the framework of the restaurant by Putnam Steel, Inc, represents a milestone in the redevelopment project, Mr Cascella said. The broker said the property’s developer hopes to have occupancy of the unnamed restaurant at Highland Plaza by late fall. Also, a redeveloped section of the former Fireside Inn is planned to hold three or four stores, he said.

Last March, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approved extensive renovation and reconstruction plans for the site which formerly held The Fireside Inn. The inn was a popular restaurant, banquet hall, and catering facility, which closed for business and was sold last year.

The new restaurant is being built in the area that formerly held the western section of the inn. The developer has done extensive renovation work on the eastern section of the former inn, which was not demolished.

When reconfigured, the site would contain a total 33,228 square feet of enclosed space, plus a parking area for 190 vehicles. The facilities would include a newly constructed 5,736-square-foot restaurant with 120 seats, a patio, a covered terrace, plus a wine cellar and storage area in a basement.

The eastern section of the former Fireside Inn, which was not demolished, would be converted into a two-level structure enclosing 24,612 square feet of retail space.

As part of the redevelopment project, the applicant is making improvements to have the existing structure meet applicable building, fire, safety, and handicapped-access codes.  

In the future, the developer plans to seek P&Z approval for a new 20,000-square-foot retail building on the site to the southeast of the existing structure.

At past public sessions on the Highland Plaza project, nearby residents expressed concerns about the traffic implications of the redeveloped complex in the congested area. The site lies just north of the hazardous five-legged intersection of South Main Street, Cedar Hill Road, Peck’s Lane, and Prospect Drive. The residents said they fear that yet more development on the site would worsen existing hazardous traffic conditions.

Because the two-lane South Main Street (Route 25) is a state road, the traffic aspects of the Highland Plaza project are subject to review by the state Department of Transportation (DOT).