Font ResizeGROTON -- With the conclusion of last week's public hearing, planners involved with designing a new Center Fire Station have been cleared to proceed to a formal site plan approval application with the Planning Board.
The move later next month will be a milestone in a process that began with last year's halting search for a location for the fire station, a Town Meeting vote giving selectmen the authority to purchase land along Farmers Row, and the hiring of architects design a state-of-the-art facility.
The first phase of the approval process concluded last week when architects from Dorn & Whittier, Town Manager Mark Haddad and members of the Center Fire Station Building Committee met with the Planning Board to complete a pre-submission review.
Completion of the review sets the groundwork for the site plan approval process that is scheduled to begin either Aug. 23 or Sept. 13, depending on when the town files its application with the board.
At last week's Planning Board meeting, engineer John Perry filled in board members on the latest changes made to the fire station design including placement of most parking in the rear of the building, relocation of the access driveway to reduce glare from headlights to neighboring homes and to avoid the need to remove an existing tree on the roadside, and grading on the side of the property facing open fields to avoid the need for an unsightly retaining wall.
A major change, Perry said, was the relocation
"I think this location is a good compromise for both boards," Haddad said.
As proposed, the estimated $8 million complex will include a four-bay garage and three-story administration complex with offices on the first floor; fitness room, dormitory, kitchen, dining room and day room planned for the second floor; and HVAC and other mechanical equipment to be placed in the third floor "attic" space.
The building's overall design as confirmed in last Tuesday night's presentation, will be barn-like, complete with rooftop cupola with clapboard siding to blend in to the surrounding historic district.
Officials last week said that plans to include a 47-foot tower in the design has been abandoned and that nowhere will the building's height exceed 35 feet, as required in the town's zoning bylaws.
Concerns raised by board members included grading, landscaping and zoning issues, none of which was expected to hinder the site plan review process.
Also at the board's July 26 meeting, members voted to approve an amended cul-de-sac detail plan submitted by Robert France, developer of the Boynton Meadows subdivision located at 134 Main St.
France appeared before the board with his landscape engineer, who said that changes to the teardrop-shaped, 95x70 foot space would be relatively minor and consist mainly of the types of native shrubs to be planted along the circumference of the cul de sac.
The space itself is actually a catchbasin designed to resemble a standing wetland with corresponding plants to be located in three planting zones. A wooden boardwalk will bisect the space linking crosswalks on either side.
Of perhaps greater interest, however, was news from France that most of the units in an existing building on the property fronting Main Street have now been claimed by various tenants.
According to the developer, all residential units in the building have been spoken for, save for the single affordable unit which will be tenanted following a lottery process. On the ground floor, a number of businesses have lined up for occupancy, including a dentist's office, a yoga studio, and a bakery.
France said that the overall project is on schedule with a number of buildings on the site already having been demolished.
Future plans call for a phased construction plan with the existing retail building ready for occupancy later in the summer and the first residential units by the fall. Ongoing occupancy of residential units will be market-driven, so might take some time for all to be completed.
