Tenants Still A Secret—

Wetlands Application Submitted For Former Grand Union Site

By Andrew Gorosko

The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) has received an application for wetlands construction work as part of the redevelopment of the largely vacant borough shopping center at 5 Queen Street, which formerly housed the Grand Union supermarket.

That application, however, gives no clue of who the eventual tenants will be.

The 7.5-acre site, which has entry/exit driveways at both Queen Street and Church Hill Road, is owned by Eton Centers Company of New York City.

The IWC is expected to hold a public hearing on the wetlands aspects of the redevelopment project on November 14.

John Zyrlis of TPA Design Group in New Haven is listed as the project’s applicant on behalf of Eton Centers.

Documents filed with the IWC indicate that the developer is seeking to alter 3,130 square feet of wetlands at the site. Those wetlands lie on the eastern side of the parcel.

The work would involve depositing approximately 1,000 cubic yards of soil in the wetlands to create an area where a paved driveway would be constructed to link the site to an adjacent commercial property. Trees in the wetland would be cut down.

The proposal notes that driveway construction would start late this year and conclude next spring.

Plans submitted to the IWC indicate that the site would hold 51,279 square feet of commercial space. An existing red-brick building would be refitted for use as a grocery store and as other retail space. The building would hold 33,109 of space for a grocery store, and 14,975 square feet for other retail use.

A new 3,195 square-foot building would be built to house a bank.

The developer does not identify the grocery stores or retail uses that would be located there. It is believed that Wachovia Bank would occupy the new bank building.

The property would hold a 253-space parking lot.

The bank building would be located on the south side of Church Hill Road, between the building that jointly houses Newtown Convenience Store and Newtown Florist at 22 Church Hill Road, and the building now under construction at 28 Church Hill Road that will house Mannen, a Japanese restaurant/bar, on the ground level and office space on an upper level.

A Grand Union supermarket, which was the prime tenant at Eton Center, closed for business in March 2001. That decaying space has been vacant since the closure. A Brooks Pharmacy at the site closed for business in April 2006. A Wachovia Bank branch office remains in business within the west end of the red-brick building on the site.

The tax-assessed value of the Eton Center property is listed as $2.7 million. The shopping center was built in 1957 and remodeled in 1988. The site is located within a B-1 (Business) zone.

The Police Commission is expected to discuss traffic aspects of the redevelopment project when it meets October 2. The Police Commission serves as the local traffic authority and reviews the traffic aspects of commercial development proposals in the town and the borough.

The shopping center project would be subject to review by the Borough Zoning Commission. Also, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) would comment on the project to the borough zoners.