New renovation look planned for Redstone
Published on March 7th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - The owners of the Redstone Shopping Plaza unveiled a new renovation proposal last Wednesday that would bring a fitness center into the commercial center as a new major tenant.
According to Main Street attorney Steven Cicatelli, who represents the proprietors, his clients planned to formally file a special permit application this spring that would bring a 55,000 square foot L.A. Fitness Center to the site.
The owners of the plaza also hope to find two other new tenants, which would likely include another retail-type establishment and a restaurant. Under the new proposal, a planned drive-thru CVS location would also be added to the property near where the former Ground Round and Eastern Bank once stood.
Both of those abandoned buildings would be razed to make space for the pharmacy, which would shift over to the new location from its current storefront at the Main Street commercial site.
During recent months, S & R Weiner Associates have held discussions with a number of other potential suitors, said Cicatelli, most notably with officials from Lowe's Home Improvement.
However, due to the layout of the shopping plaza, the applicants ultimately opted against such a high intensity user and instead selected L.A. Fitness.
"After discussion with my client, we decided that based on the fact that we have a mixed-use site, [a Lowe's] might not be an appropriate use," Cicatelli explained.
"We feel that [L.A.] fitness is a good fit. For those of you familiar with fitness facilities, the peak traffic times are basically different than retail," the Main Street lawyer furthered.
The subject of many rumors over recent months, the Redstone Shopping Plaza has been eyed by many town officials as in great need of a makeover that could draw new tenants, especially given the large amount of space that is currently vacant.
Over a year-and-a-half ago, the owners of the retail space pushed the Planning Board for a special permit, which would have allowed the current Shaw's supermarket to shift over into the currently unoccupied structures that formerly housed Ames and Cherry Webb.
However, after a stalemate over those deliberations dragged on for months and months, with Planning Board members calling for firm traffic figures and a concrete renovation proposal that wasn't constantly morphing, Shaw's abandoned the idea, killing the rest of the project.
That previous plan would have seen the demolition of four buildings at the site, including the Ames, Cherry Webb, Ground Round, and Eastern Bank locations. Shaw's then would have erected a superstore at the site of the Ames and Cherry Webb sites, and CVS would have shifted over to a new building with two drive-thru lanes where the bank and restaurant once stood.
The Marshall's store would have also increased its space by building towards the rear of the shopping center, while old spot of the supermarket in the rear would then have been open for a new tenant.
"Shaw's has decided to stay where they are, and there will be some minor modifications to the shopping center," Cicatelli said of the new planned project, which will still see the razing of the old Cherry Web, Eastern Bank, and Ground Round locations. "Instead of demolishing the Ames building, the intent is to slice of portion of the building off [for the fitness center]."
According to the attorney, the newest plan, when submitted for consideration, will have some significant differences over the old proposal, primarily relating to previous traffic and congestion concerns.
Specifically, Cicatelli argued that because the entrance to the L.A. Fitness Center will be towards the rear of the property, facing Shaw's, the need for right-hand turning lanes into the site, as well as worries about parking congestion, will be eradicated.
The local attorney anticipates that the Planning Board will catch their first glimpse of a formal submittal sometime in May. The Conservation Commission, as well as the town's Zoning Board of Appeals, will also have to approve the proposal.
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