WESTFIELD – The Planning Board voted to continue the public hearing for the proposed commercial development at a former Springfield Road car dealership to allow the petitioner to present further information.
Rob Levesque of R Levesque & Associates, representing Julie and Nabil Hannoush of 99 Springfield Road, presented details of the proposed reuse of the former Balise dealership into a retail complex.
The couple are seeking permits from the Planning Board and City Council, as well as the Conservation Commission, to renovate the existing 26,450-square foot building and to construct an additional 32,480 square feet of retail space on the 11.36-acre site at 99 Springfield Road.
The project will require a special permit, site plan and stormwater management plan approved by the Planning Board, a special permit as a place of assembly from the City Council and conditions from the Conservation Commission because of the proximity of the site to the Westfield River.
Levesque said the proposal is for the phased construction of three new retail buildings with square footages of , 12,000, 9,000 and 10,800. The former dealership showroom and maintenance facility are currently undergoing renovation.
Levesque sad that a gym, Expert Fitness, will be located in the front of the showroom, while a baseball facility, Extra Innings, with a restaurant, batting cages and sports equipment retail will be in the back of the building.
Levesque said the new construction is limited to the paved area of the former dealership and that even after full development of the site for retail use there will be a surplus of parking under city ordinance calculations.
Levesque requested the continuance of the public hearing to further refine the plan and present details for traffic movement within the site which currently has two curb-cuts for access to Springfield Road.
Levesque said that he has contacted the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding the traffic generated by the retail facilities and the impact of that traffic on Route 20. That DOT review process could take as long as two years.
The retail site is about equidistant from the traffic signals at Union Street on the west side of the property and the Walmart store located to the east.
“It’s a couple of thousand feet,” Levesque said. “We will do a traffic count and the impact on (Route 20) by traffic generated by this site. We’re in the early stages of the process. We do agree that we will be a traffic generator.”
Board member Bill Onyski asked how the internal traffic pattern would be modified if the DOT determines that a traffic signal is needed because of safety concerns.
“I think it’s difficult to talk about the traffic pattern in the site, but what happens if one of those two curb cuts is closed because of a traffic signal?” Onyski asked.
Levesque said that he does not anticipate that the DOT will require the installation of a new traffic signal, but that the Planning Board could add a condition to the special permit for further review of the internal traffic flow pattern if that does occur.
The board members asked for additional information of the landscape plan and well as streetscape treatment of the proposed new buildings visible from Route 20. The hearing was continued to April 15.
