Renderings of two views of the retail buildings planned for 916 Williams St.
Photo credit: Phase Zero Design
LONGMEADOW — The Planning Board reviewed plans and asked questions about a set of retail buildings planned for 916 Williams St. during a May 7 public hearing.
The property, once home to a Church of Christ, Scientist, was purchased in 2015 by Frank Colaccino, owner of real estate developer The Colvest Group. Located at the intersection of Williams Street and Redfern Drive, the land abuts The Longmeadow Shops and Colaccino plans to make it into an extension of the shopping plaza.
The Colvest Group’s attorney, Jeffrey Roberts, explained that the proposal is to demolish the church and build three buildings to house retail tenants, a bank with a drive-thru and a coffee shop, also with a drive-thru. The buildings would be situated toward the rear of the property, with a parking lot in front, similar to the layout of The Longmeadow Shops.
Architect Chris Milliard of Phase Zero Design said the architecture would “mimic but not duplicate” that of the shops, which Milliard has also worked on. Limited to 30 feet in height, the buildings would be a single story, with varied rooflines and windows above the ceiling level adding architectural interest. Those details would wrap around the sides of the building to avoid the look of a solid wall. There would be awnings above the shop windows and shingled or metal roofs. A “tower element” on the building furthest to the right would also provide visual interest. A line of trees would screen the side of the building from Redfern Drive and a row of arborvitae have already been planted to act as screening for residents behind the property. Other trees and landscaping will also be added to the site and a small patio area in front of the coffee shop, would be surrounded by plantings.
A curb cut on Williams Street near the intersection with Redfern Drive would be an entry only. A second curb cut closer to the CVS would have three lanes: one for entry and one each for left and right turns out of the property. There would also be a drive lane connecting the property to the shops, reinforcing the idea of it as an extension of the existing plaza.
Scott Hesketh, of F.A. Hesketh & Associates, performed the project’s traffic study, which was based on traffic at The Longmeadow Shops, background traffic data and standards from the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He estimated there would be 1,360 trips entering the site and the same amount leaving it on weekdays. Traffic on Saturdays would be higher, with 1,870 trips entering the site and leaving again. Between 25% and 50% of the vehicles are those that would otherwise be on the roadway. Based on this, Hesketh said the intersection of Williams and Redfern would be downgraded from a “b” to a “c” on weekday mornings, adding about six seconds to the length of time a car waits there. “It’s basically going to be zero effect,” he said.
As for traffic leaving the property, Hesketh estimated that cars exiting right would wait between 10 and 20 seconds, while those exiting left would wait about four minutes. The drive-through’s would see between 40 and 50 cars per hour, with average queues of four or five vehicles, Hesketh said. When asked about the drive-throughs, Colaccino said the alleys between the buildings would be one-way, with traffic moving counterclockwise around the buildings.
Planning Board Chair Cheryl Thibodeau asked about deliveries. Hesketh said deliveries to shops of this size are generally done using FedEx vehicles or box trucks, as opposed to tractor-trailers. Any delivery traffic would go around to the rear of the buildings.
Thibodeau also asked about energy features, such as solar panels. Colaccino said the rooftops would be able to support solar panels, but none are planned for immediate installation. There will be electric vehicle chargers on site, he said, adding that the property would “adhere to all environmental codes.”
The Planning Board members expressed concerns about traffic issues. Planning Board member Chris Legiadre said traffic at the intersection is already congested and Thibodeau said there are many pedestrians who use the sidewalk in front of the property. Hesketh said signs, stop bars and other markings would make it relatively safe.
Planning Board member Walter Gunn said the development would be “creating a whole new dynamic in a very congested area” with “tight,” “narrow” two-lane roads. He also pointed out that the redevelopment of Longmeadow Street would bring traffic up Bliss Road and Williams Street during rush hour. Similarly, Legiadre said the potential middle school project on Williams would cause challenges.
Redfern Drive resident Belisa Anzalotti spoke during the hearing, expressing concerns about traffic at the site. She said residents were “excited” about promises Colvest Group made to help improve the intersection, which resulted in a “groundswell” of people who voted to rezone the property for business at a Town Meeting in 2023. She asked what improvements were being made.
DPW Director Sean Van Deusen explained that the town had received a MassWorks grant to design intersection improvements. Anzalotti suggested adding a third lane to Williams Street. She urged the board to bar left turns out of the property and opined that the enter-only driveway was too close to the intersection. Gunn said Police Chief Robert Stocks and Fire Chief John Rogney had expressed similar concerns about the entrance.
The project cannot go forward without changes to the intersection’s traffic lights, Gunn said. Colaccino said his firm has committed $250,000 to the traffic light, which could be added to the $250,000 that that was provided to the town but not spent when the Longmeadow Shops was expanded. Referring to the MassWorks grant, Colaccino said the economic development provided by the project is part of why the town was awarded the grant.
The board ordered an independent traffic study and peer review of the stormwater plan be paid for by The Colvest Group. The results of these are expected at the next Planning Board meeting on this issue, on June 4.
