File Photo
Next up: a super-CVS?
In the wake of Cumberland Farms’ failure to win support to rebuild on upper Whalley Avenue, CVS has begun wooing neighbors with a plan to build an expanded pharmacy with more grocery space and a drive-thru.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Developer Doug Benoit, of Arista Development LLC. (pictured), unveiled plans at Wednesday night’s Westville/West Hills Community Management Team meeting that would replace the cramped CVS Pharmacy at 1168 Whalley Ave., which has a reputation for being a little dark and a little dirty, with a significantly larger store just a block away.
Benoit told community members that the opportunity to develop the property into a bigger store came about as CVS is considering whether to renew its lease at the current location. Turns out the pharmacy was leaning heavily toward pulling up stakes in the area.
“It’s a small store, with no drive-thru,” Benoit said. “They just can’t exist the way they are able to at newer facilities.” That means dedicating less space to grocery items, which are fairly popular at the location which acts as a bridge between the area’s nearest full service grocery stores.
Cumberland Farms announced plans two years ago to put up in 4,500 square foot convenience store and 12 gas pumps at the same corner. Those plans flopped with neighbors as well as the City Plan Department, and never came to fruition. (Read about how that unfolded here, here, here, and here.)
Benoit said Arista now has nine properties under contract on the southeastern corner of Whalley and Dayton Street, including the existing Whalley Liquors and several other businesses and residential buildings. He said tearing down those buildings could provide an ideal space for a new 13,225 square-foot CVS. The existing store on the next block is about 9,000 square feet. The new store also would have a drive-thru, along with 85 parking spaces. The current liquor store would become a parking lot
Eight of the properties are still technically owned by Albert Morgillo, who passed away last fall. Morgillo signed a contract with Arista just before he died, according to Benoit. Benoit said his company is working through the process of transferring ownership with Morgillo’s family. The ninth property under contract is owned by Garfield Perkins.
Benoit said he expects that working through the acquisition process, having more meetings with the community and then obtaining approvals from the state for traffic, and approvals from the city for zoning and other permits, could take until the end of the year. He said it would be at least the beginning of next year before any ground could be broken on the project. The project would need zoning relief because some of the property is currently zoned for residential, not commercial, use.
Milford Attorney John Knuff (pictured), who is representing Arista, said that developer would also seek parking relief. City zoning rules would require that the store have about 110 parking spaces based on its size, he said; the developer plans to seek permission for the 85, and may be open to a smaller number.
The high number of parking spaces immediately caught people’s attention at Wednesday’s meeting. Several people pointed out that the current CVS has about 40 spaces, and the lot is rarely full because many of its customers travel there by foot.
Some neighbors expressed concern that a bigger store would mean more truck traffic because of deliveries. There also was concern that a truck turning left into the store’s parking lot entrance from Whalley Avenue would cause a traffic nightmare; people said they weren’t sure having trucks turning left on Dayton Street, where there already is congestion, would be a much better solution.
Knuff said because both Whalley Avenue and Dayton Street are state roads, the developer will be expected to complete a traffic study. While he didn’t have the store’s delivery hours on hand, he suggested that whatever they are, they likely won’t change from existing hours, which are already off-peak. The store also won’t be a 24-hour operation, he said.
Pam Allen of Evergreen Family Oriented Tree, a supportive housing organization that serves formerly incarcerated people, urged that any construction or retail jobs should made available to local people, particularly people who are re-entering society after being imprisoned.
The project has the support of Amity/Beverly Hills Alder Richard Furlow, who said that something has to happen to the property, particularly since no previous proposal has been successful. Given that the CVS will likely move if it can’t get a new store, Furlow said, he thinks the plan is a good option.
“I don’t want to see the CVS move to Woodbridge,” he said. Furlow said if something isn’t done with the property, “I guarantee there will be blight in a few years.”
Benoit said there is potential for the existing CVS space to be renovated and used for another business, when the store moves to a new location. “Really, it’s like a two for one,” he said. The developer assured the neighbors that this would not be their last conversation; he said he plans to return in a few weeks and would be prepared to answer any questions they have.
“This project is still very much in its infancy,” he said.
I think few people would disagree that this corner is currently blighted.
However, imagine if Upper State Street had tried to rejuvenate itself by demolishing old buildings and replacing them with parking lots and suburban-style convenience stores. Upper State Street used to be lined with second-rate antique stores, vacancies, and decrepit buildings, but individual property owners eventually decided to invest in their properties (with help from the city's façade restoration program) and that commercial street is now a vibrant place to work, dine and live.