HADLEY — A 50-unit apartment building for people 55 and over at the Village Barn Shops on Route 9 is another step closer to being constructed.
At the Planning Board Tuesday, Chris Chamberland, principal civil engineer at the Berkshire Design Group, and Dan Bonham, a principal at Bonham & Douglas Architects, spent 90 minutes providing an overview of the L-shaped, three-story building that will be attached to the former Hadley Farms Meeting House at 41 Russell St.
Three vacant out buildings will be demolished to make way for the project, which will be managed by the property owner, the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group.
“The project goal here is to target people in Hadley who are downsizing from a house but want to stay in town and are looking to rent, and not worry about property maintenance and these type of things,” Chamberland said.
Inside the building will be 49 two-bedroom apartments and a single one-bedroom apartment.
Shardool Parmar of the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group said this is the best use for the 8.2-acre site, with the challenging retail environment and other commercial opportunities at the location, just east of the Coolidge Bridge, “very limited.”
“We feel this project provides the most value for the town,” Parmar said.
No major concerns were expressed by planners, even as the building would be 49 feet tall, which is 7 feet taller than zoning allows. That will require a waiver and could be an issue for the fire department. The height, though, is a necessity, due to raising the building in case of flood waters that would pass below. The mechanical equipment will be in the peaked roof.
The project would need 113 parking spaces based on town zoning, but only 75 would be built. The footprint of the building will be 20,825 square feet, more than the 12,500 square foot limit in zoning, though that only applies to commercial developments.
Hadley Meeting House will have a hallway connection to the new building, providing a common area for residents, as well as storage, and a more formal outdoor gathering place will be created to the south of that building.
Another concern is the significantly narrow driveway coming from Route 9. Chamberland said the hope is to give a more residential feel and promote safety by keeping guests at the neighboring Hampton Inn from cutting through.
Planners asked questions about the variety of windows and mullion styles to break up the institutional look of the building.
“The windows as presented look pretty plain and very consistent throughout,” said Chairman James Maksimoski.
The hearing will resume Jan. 20 at 6:45 p.m., when the project could be approved.
“Thank you very much for a very thorough presentation,” Maksimoski said.
Eyeglass store to take over GameStop spot
Meanwhile, with GameStop closing its location at Mountain Farms Mall, one of four such stores in western Massachusetts being shuttered, a Warby Parker eyeglass store appears poised to take over its space.
The Planning Board waived further site plan approval for the change in use, but didn’t yet approve the signs.
Ailee Johnston, senior store design manager for Warby Parker, presented the Planning Board renderings of an exterior facade with the store name written in white letters embedded within half-circle graphics in two specific branded colors, Yosemite Blue and Winding Waterway.
“We love to add branded colors where possible,” Johnston said. “We try to design something unique for each space.”
Johnston said Warby Parker prefers to use these colors over illuminated signs and will remove the existing gooseneck lights, and also replace brick with stucco.
Warby Parker is also asking for a 5 square foot blade sign that will protrude from the building, and installing a navy awning with the phrase”Nice to See You” written on it.
Planning Board Clerk William Dwyer questioned whether the half circles represent a logo, but noted that it wouldn’t be a problem at the shopping center that includes Walmart and Whole Foods.
Planning Board member Mark Dunn said they seem to be fairly random art and not much different than a mural that adorns the nearby L.L. Bean store, and other art approved for the future Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurant at 5 South Maple St.
But, in other business, the board advised Jim Carlin, president of Ace Signs Inc. of Springfield, to hold off on presenting new signs for Dave’s Hot Chicken.
Members expressed concern about approving signs when there is a question about whether there is a valid building permit for the business, which had planned to convert a former bank building into the restaurant. Instead, the company demolished most of that building, and will instead be rebuilding from the ground up.