Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 1/24/2023
HADLEY – The Hadley Planning Board convened on Jan. 17 to discuss several proposals. Only one item was voted on, while the other items on the agenda received preliminary conversations.
The action item that required a vote was a request from Barry Roberts, who built the Harbor Freight store building at 303 Russell St., and is also the lease owner. After striking a deal with the Subaru dealership next door to sell them the rear portion of the lot and the back building, he appeared before the board to request permission to complete the deal. He allowed attorney Tom Reidy to speak on his behalf.
“If you’re familiar with this site, Barry had built the Harbor Freight building, has a good lease with Harbor Freight, and then had built the rear building specifically for Jeff Waskiewicz and Rao’s [Coffee]. As you know, Rao’s is not operating out of that space. Barry has been holding the bag for years and has struck a deal with the adjacent Steve Lewis Subaru dealership to carve off and then ultimately sell that back piece to the dealership,” Reidy said.
The request would not entail a new building, and very little modification other than the addition of a new door, interior work, etc. Reidy asked the board to approve the updated site plan and the modification of the site’s original special permit regarding usage under the approval not required (ANR) process, which does not require a public hearing.
“As I see it, there’s two steps. The first is to actually go through the ANR process so that he can convey Parcel B to 315 Russell Street LLC. The second piece is that the special permit that was issued – this is industrial zoning district and also aquifer protection zoning district – was specific to Harbor Freight, which is not changing, and Rao’s coffee. So the request is the vote to endorse the ANR and then to allow that modification of the Special Permit so that it can be used for vehicle service and parts and general storage,” Reidy said.
The board voted to approve the ANR but said that Steve Lewis must come see the board himself so they can confirm his exact plans for usage. For example, if he plans on performing oil changes in the new building, the language within the special permit must be changed from coffee to motor oil.
JP Morgan Chase also brought forward a proposal regarding the construction of a new branch in the Hampshire Mall. Josh Kline of Stonefield Engineering appeared as their representative, and Lynn Gray and Bill Mahoney were also present on the call representing the mall. The project has been in the works for quite some time, according to Kline.
“This project has been going on in the background for a long time, and I think it’s finally at a point of moving forward. Chase Bank does a pretty extensive due diligence effort and we’ve been working really closely with Hampshire Mall over the last year to get to this point of introducing the application,” Kline said.
The bank would be on the southeast corner of Maple Street and Russell Street, right next door to the Trader Joe’s supermarket. Due to JP Morgan’s acquisition of Chase some board members were unsure of the exact name of the bank and the features within, but Kline cleared up the confusion.
“The name of the formal legal entity is ‘JP Morgan Chase’ but it is known as a Chase Bank … How retail has moved, there’s obviously a big component that is driven on modern day banking, so there will be a drive-through ATM facility associated with it, and there is also a financial planning component with the Chase Bank branch,” Kline said.
This meeting was just a first step in the project; Kline was not expecting to get a vote of approval on the first night. Due to some discrepancies regarding whether or not the bank would have to abide by certain zoning codes, the project must be cleared by the Zoning Board of Appeals before the Planning Board can accept it.
The Planning Board will meet again on Feb. 7.