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Date: 10/17/2023
BELCHERTOWN — Residents may be able to look forward to a new spot to enjoy coffee as a Starbucks has been discussed with the Planning Board.
The Planning Board approved the site plan by Colvest-Belchertown LLC at its Oct. 10 meeting that includes adding a Starbucks at 155 N. Main St.
Peter LaPointe, a project manager for Colvest LLC, presented the site plan for Starbucks at the Planning Board’s Sept. 26 and Oct. 10 meetings.
The construction is planned to take place starting early next year with the hope to be done by spring 2024 depending how long the process with the Planning Board and Conservation Committee takes.
Starbucks will be located at the former Hawley’s Family Restaurant in the same parking lot as Subway and Sleigh Pizza.
Development firm Colvest-Belchertown LLC intends to demolish the 2,800 square feet space at the end of the building to make room for a drive thru before the redesign.
Starbucks will remodel the existing the interior and exterior of the building to match the look of the nationwide café.
The proposed plan includes adding a drive-thru and an outdoor patio area that will be surrounded by a fence and contain tables and chairs.
“We are proposing to demolish the building immediately to the south of the 155 building, its totally vacant, Verizon was in there, but we have located them down to another space. That area is about 82 feet deep and about 32 feet wide and we are going to take 12 feet of that slightly off from the 155 building to create a drive thru,” LaPointe said.
He added that the current drive-thru design will fit about 13 cars before it impacts traffic.
The Planning Board said they liked the idea of a Starbucks coming to town but were concerned with pedestrian traffic as well as traffic in and out of the complex.
“I think everyone’s issue about this proposal has to do with traffic concerns,” Planning Board member Elizabeth Pols said.
Planning Board member Justin Rosienski added, “Yeah I don’t have much issue with the Starbucks or that site, I am just worried about someone getting hit because that is a treacherous intersection.”
Some concerns that the Planning Board expressed were pedestrians walking by the drive thru and patio area along with cars leaving the drive thru and either driving straight through vacant spots or driving different ways in the parking lot causing accidents.
There was also a fear of cars that cut through the parking lot to avoid the lights on Main St. and Federal St.
Planning Board Chair Dan Beaudette said that the plan still needed work and wanted to see the traffic concerns edited before a continue discussion on Oct. 10.
On Oct. 10, LaPointe presented an updated plan that addressed the concerns of the Planning Board.
The new plan includes a raised island with a sign that directs cars to the CVS exit “as the best route to Route 9,” so you can’t drive through the parking lot, according to LaPointe.
He added that the CVS exit will also be re-striped so that there are two lanes out and one lane in so that people can turn left.
The final concern about cars cutting through the parking lot the Planning Board agreed is an existing problem that Starbucks won’t add to, and the increased cars in the parking lot should reduce that problem.
The Planning Board approved the site plan.