P&Z Approves Revised Design For Retail Complex At Plaza South On Route 25

By Andrew Gorosko

Two development firms have gained Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approval for a modified version of the planned Plaza South retail complex at 266 and 274 South Main Street (Route 25) in Botsford.

Following a December 3 public hearing, P&Z members unanimously approved the latest version of Plaza South, a project that has undergone numerous design changes since its initial approval by the P&Z in 2005.

The applicants for the project are Plaza South, LLC, and 266 South Main Street, LLC.

The current version of the project involves the construction of five commercial buildings which would enclose 59,950 square feet of space on the 12.35-acre site, plus 308 parking spaces. The original version of the project involved creating 68,000 square feet of space within four buildings.

Last April, the P&Z had approved a three-building version of the retail complex on the southern section of the site.

The approval granted on December 3 allows the developers to construct an additional two buildings on the northern end of the property. One structure would enclose 19,950 square feet of space and the other would be 14,000 square feet in area.

The P&Z’s December 3 action modifies an existing special permit that was granted for retail complex construction project in 2005.

Two buildings are now under construction on the property, which has been excavated to make way for commercial development.

The site lies on the west side of South Main Street, north of the intersection of South Main Street and Cold Spring Road. The retail property lies across South Main Street from Button Shop Road. The land is in an industrial zone. It is the site of a former sand-and-gravel mine.

Attorney Peter Scalzo, representing the developers, told P&Z members that although the applicants would now construct five buildings instead of the four structures that were initially approved for the site, the overall square footage of the enclosed space there would be less than was initially approved by the P&Z.

Engineer Michael Lillis of CCA, LLC, of Brookfield, representing the applicants, said that future tenants at the complex would primarily be retail uses. Many planned physical features at the site would remain as were previously approved.

The applicants have revamped both their landscaping plans and exterior lighting plans for the site, he said.

The lightposts would stand 18 feet tall. They would direct their illumination downward toward the parking lot.

The entrance to the site has been paved, Mr Lillis said. Septic waste disposal systems have been installed, as have water mains. The site is in the Aquifer Protection District (APD).

Landscape architect Roderick Cameron of CCA, LLC, representing the developers, said revisions have been made to the site’s overall landscaping plan to improve that plan.

Mr Cameron detailed how the site’s border would be landscaped to obscure the view of the commercial complex from the Cold Spring Road area neighborhood.

Providing sufficient visual screening in that area became a major issue among nearby residents when the retail project was initially proposed.

Resident Mary Curran of 41 Cold Spring Road explained that when the project was first proposed in 2004, a petition bearing the signatures of 77 people listed the signers’ concerns about the project, including the need for suitable visual buffering along the project’s border.

Ms Curran, who said she represents the interests of people living on the streets in the neighborhood, told P&Z members that the residents accept the landscaping plans as proposed by the applicants.

Due to extensive excavation at the site, the level of the retail complex would be much lower than the level of Cold Spring Road.

The Plaza South design changes that were approved by the P&Z on December 3 would not require the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to modify its approval for the project, said George Benson, town director of planning and land use.

Access to the site will be controlled by a traffic signal that regulates traffic flow at the intersection of South Main Street, Button Shop Road, and the Plaza South driveway.

In unanimously approving the modified version of Plaza South, P&Z members decided that the project is consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development; it meets the standards and criteria required to obtain a special permit; and meets the conditions of the M-1 (Industrial) zoning regulations.

Last April, when the P&Z approved plans for Plaza South which would allow roughly 25,000 square feet of enclosed space to be constructed there within three buildings, the developers said they would return to the P&Z to seek approvals to build the balance of the planned overall approximately 60,000-square-foot complex.