New Haven Independent

Brian Taylor (pictured) is district manager for the Sherwin-Williams Paint Store Group. Thirty members of the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hill (WEB) management team gave him a warm welcome at their meeting Tuesday night, as he shared his company’s plan for moving into the Walgreen’s plaza at 454 Whalley Ave. by next May, or June at the latest.

When Taylor mentioned the store will offer paints, stains, wallpaper, blinds and samples of carpeting to choose from (the actual carpeting is at another store), audible murmurs of approval were heard around the room.

It was a marked contrast to the battle the same neighbors waged, and won, against a proposal to put a laundromat at the same spot.

WEB members peppered Taylor with questions. They were friendly questions. With every answer he seemed to endear his company more to the crowd.

Soon-to-be elected Ward 24 Alderman Marcus Paca (pictured) asked what kind of market study the company did to determine this was a good location for a new store. Taylor said it looked at population size and population growth, and noted the number of small businesses in the area and the large number of rental units that turn over, requiring repainting often.

“There’s not too many options for people around here to go to a decorating center,” he added.

Francine Caplan wanted to know the company’s policy on handling toxic materials. Taylor said almost all the paint is water-based latex, thus minimizing toxic waste. He said if an employee mis-mixes a color of latex paint, the store would give it away. If that happens to the few oil-based items the store will carry, he said, he will pay a company to dispose of it off-site.

He said the store will have only two full-time and two part-time employees, who will be hired from within the company and thoroughly trained. He added that two employees at another Sherwin-Williams store in the region live in New Haven and have expressed interest in running the new store. New Haven will be the 26th store in the region. The plan is to have the store open seven days a week: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (and possibly earlier if contractor business warrants it); 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

Neighbors say one advantage of the paint store over the laundromat is that it offers something not previously available in the area. Another advantage: customers will move in and out relatively quickly, as opposed to spending a few hours washing and drying their clothes — a scenario neighbors feared could lead to loitering and possible trouble.

“I don’t want to put you on the spot,” Paca said. He then asked what community initiatives or support Taylor was prepared to offer. He replied, “We deal with 3,000 charities” across the country. He said Sherwin-Williams likes to work with local groups, giving each store a budget to support community initiatives. He added that getting all the employees in his region out for big painting projects is something he encourages, and the employees really enjoy helping out in this way.